ALBERT

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 252, Part B〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jing Wang, Jinjun Kan, Gang Qian, Jianfang Chen, Zhiqiang Xia, Xiaodong Zhang, Haijiao Liu, Jun Sun〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The Yangtze River, which is the largest in Euro-Asian, receives tremendous anthropogenic nitrogen input and is typically characterized by severe eutrophication and hypoxia. Two major processes, denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), play vital roles for removing nitrogen global in nitrogen cycling. In the current study, sediment samples were collected from both latitudinal and longitudinal transects along the coastal Yangtze River and the East China Sea (ECS). We investigated community composition and distributions of 〈em〉nos〈/em〉Z gene-encoded denitrifiers by high throughput sequencing, and also quantified the relative abundances of both denitrifying and anammox bacteria by q-PCR analysis. Denitrifying communities showed distinct spatial distribution patterns that were impacted by physical (water current and river runoffs) and chemical (nutrient availability and organic content) processes. Both denitrifying and anammox bacteria contributed to the nitrogen removal in Yangtze Estuary and the adjacent ECS, and these two processes shifted from coastal to open ocean with reverse trends: the abundance of 〈em〉nos〈/em〉Z gene decreased from coastal to open ocean while anammox exhibited an increasing trend based on quantifications of 〈em〉hzs〈/em〉B and 16S rRNA genes. Further correspondence correlation analysis revealed that salinity and nutrients were the main factors in structuring composition and distribution of denitrifying and anammox bacteria. This study improved our understanding of dynamic processes in nitrogen removal from estuarine to open ocean. We hypothesize that denitrification is the major nitrogen removal pathway in estuaries, but in open oceans, low nutrient and organic matter concentrations restrict denitrification, thus increasing the importance of anammox as a nitrogen removal process.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118342167-fx1.jpg" width="317" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 252, Part B〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Danilo Russo, Francesca Cosentino, Francesca Festa, Flavia De Benedetta, Branka Pejic, Pierfilippo Cerretti, Leonardo Ancillotto〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Artificial illumination at night represents an increasingly concerning threat to ecosystems worldwide, altering persistence, behaviour, physiology and fitness of many organisms and their mutual interactions, in the long-term affecting ecosystem functioning. Bats are very sensitive to artificial light at night because they are obligate nocturnal and feed on insects which are often also responsive to lights. Here we tested the effects of LED lighting on prey-predator interactions at riverine ecosystems, using bats and their insect prey as models, and compared bat and insect reactions in terms of bat activity and prey insect abundance and diversity, respectively, on artificially lit vs. unlit nights. Artificial light influenced both insect and bat assemblages in taxon-specific directions: insect abundances increased at lit sites, particularly due to an increase in small dipterans near the light source. Composition of insect assemblages also differed significantly between lit and unlit sites. Total bat activity declined at lit sites, but this change was mainly due to the response of the most abundant species, 〈em〉Myotis daubentonii〈/em〉, while opportunistic species showed no reaction or even an opposite pattern (〈em〉Pipistrellus kuhlii〈/em〉). We show that artificial lighting along rivers may affect trophic interactions between bats and insects, resulting in a profound alteration of community structure and dynamics.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119315210-fx1.jpg" width="438" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 252, Part B〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Nicolas Dusart, Marie-Noëlle Vaultier, Jean-Charles Olry, Cyril Buré, Joëlle Gérard, Yves Jolivet, Didier Le Thiec〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The impact of ozone (O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉) pollution events on the plant drought response needs special attention because spring O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 episodes are often followed by summer drought. By causing stomatal sluggishness, O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 could affect the stomatal dynamic during a subsequent drought event. In this context, we studied the impact of O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 exposure and water deficit (in the presence or in the absence of O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 episode) on the stomatal closure/opening mechanisms relative to irradiance or vapour pressure deficit (VPD) variation. Two genotypes of 〈em〉Populus nigra〈/em〉 x 〈em〉deltoides〈/em〉 were exposed to various treatments for 21 days. Saplings were exposed to 80 ppb/day O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 for 13 days, and then to moderate drought for 7 days. The curves of the stomatal response to irradiance and VPD changes were determined after 13 days of O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 exposure, and after 21 days in the case of subsequent water deficit, and then fitted using a sigmoidal model. The main responses under O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 exposure were stomatal closure and sluggishness, but the two genotypes showed contrasting responses. During stomatal closure induced by a change in irradiance, closure was slower for both genotypes. Nonetheless, the genotypes differed in stomatal opening under light. Carpaccio stomata opened more slowly than control stomata, whereas Robusta stomata tended to open faster. These effects could be of particular interest, as stomatal impairment was still present after O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 exposure and could result from imperfect recovery. Under water deficit alone, we observed slower stomatal closure in response to VPD and irradiance, but faster stomatal opening in response to irradiance, more marked in Carpaccio. Under the combined treatment, most of the parameters showed antagonistic responses. Our results highlight that it is important to take genotype-specific responses and interactive stress cross-talk into account to improve the prediction of stomatal conductance in response to various environmental modifications.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119312369-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 252, Part B〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mengdi Xie, Wenqing Chen, Xicong Lai, Haibo Dai, Hui Sun, Xiaoyong Zhou, Tongbin Chen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Phytochelatins (PCs) play a vital role in the tolerance and enrichment of cadmium (Cd) in higher plants by chelating with Cd〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉. The aim of this study was to perform a full-scale metabolomics analysis of metabolic responses highly correlated with PCs generation. These metabolites and metabolic pathways were expected to promote PCs generation and further optimize Cd absorption in plants. In the current study, 〈em〉Amaranthus hypochondriacus〈/em〉, a potential species for phytoremediation, was first adopted to investigate physiological responses to Cd stress via LCMS/MS-based metabolomics and the HPLC based determination of thiol compounds. The results showed that the leaves of 〈em〉A. hypochondriacus〈/em〉 under high Cd stress accumulated 40 times the amount of Cd compared to the leaves of the plants not under Cd stress and had an increased content of three types of PCs. Metabolomics qualitatively identified 12084 substances in total, among which 41 were significantly different metabolites (SDMs) between the two groups and involved in 7 metabolic pathways. Among the SDMs, 12 metabolites were highly linearly correlated with PCs involved in three pathways (Val, Leu and Ile biosynthesis; Ala, Asp and Glu metabolism; and Arg and Pro metabolism). These results provide an innovative method to promote PCs synthesis for the restoration of Cd-contaminated-soil.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119307390-fx1.jpg" width="391" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 252, Part B〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Wen-Xiong Wang, Qiao-Guo Tan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This review evaluates the three dynamic models (biokinetic model: BK, physiologically based pharmacokinetic model: PBPK, and toxicokinetic-toxicodynamic model: TKTD) in our understanding of the key questions in metal ecotoxicology in aquatic systems, i.e., bioaccumulation, transport and toxicity. All the models rely on the first-order kinetics principle of metal uptake and elimination. The BK model basically treats organisms as a single compartment, and is both physiologically and geochemically based. With a good understanding of each kinetic parameter, bioaccumulation of metals in any aquatic organisms can be studied holistically and mechanistically. Modeling efforts are not merely restrained from the prediction of metal accumulation in the tissues, but instead provide the direction of the key processes that need to be addressed. PBPK is more physiologically based since it mainly addresses the transportation, transformation and distribution of metals in the organisms. It can be treated conceptually as a multi-compartmental kinetic model, whereas the physiology is driving the development of any good PBPK model which is no generic for aquatic animals and contaminants. There are now increasingly applications of the PBPK modeling specifically in metal studies, which reveal many important processes that are impossible to be teased out by direct experimental measurements without adequate modeling. TKTD models further focus on metal toxicity in addition to metal bioaccumulation. The TK part links exposure and bioaccumulation, while the TD part links bioaccumulation and toxic effects. The separation of TK and TD makes it possible to model processes, e.g., toxicity modification by environmental factors, interaction between different metals, at both the toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic levels. TKTD models provide a framework for making full use of metal toxicity data, and thus provide more information for environmental risk assessments. Overall, the three models reviewed here will continue to provide guiding principles in our further studies of metal bioaccumulation and toxicity in aquatic organisms.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 252, Part B〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yingjie Li, Xiaoxia Zhou, Lijie Dong, Yujian Lai, Shasha Li, Rui Liu, Jingfu Liu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The bioavailability of a pollutant is usually evaluated based on its freely dissolved concentration (〈em〉C〈/em〉〈sub〉free〈/sub〉), which can be measured by negligible-depletion equilibrium extraction that is commonly suffered from long equilibration time. Herein, metal-organic framework (MOF) composites (Fe〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉@MIL-101), consists of a magnetic Fe〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 core and a MIL-101 (Cr) MOF shell, is developed as sorbents for negligible-depletion magnetic solid-phase extraction (nd-MSPE) of freely dissolved polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in environmental waters. The freely dissolved PAHs in 1000 mL water samples are extracted with 1.5 mg MOF composites, and desorbed with 0.9 mL of acetonitrile under sonication for 5 min. The MOF composites exclude the extraction of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and DOM-associated PAHs by size exclusion. Additionally, the combined interactions (hydrophobic, π-π and π-complexation) between PAHs and composites markedly reduced the extraction equilibration time to 〈 60 min for all the studied PAHs with log〈em〉K〈/em〉〈sub〉OW〈/sub〉 up to 5.74. Moreover, the porous coordination polymers property of the MOFs makes the proposed nd-MSPE based on the partitioning of PAHs and thus excludes the competitive adsorption of coexisting substances. The developed nd-MSPE approach provides low detection limits (0.08–0.82 ng L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉), wide linear range (1–1000 ng L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) and high precision (relative standard deviations (RSDs) (3.3–4.8%) in determining 〈em〉C〈/em〉〈sub〉free〈/sub〉 of PAHs. The measured 〈em〉C〈/em〉〈sub〉free〈/sub〉 of PAHs in environmental waters are in good agreement with that of verified method. Given the large diversity in structure and pore size of MOFs, various magnetic MOFs can be fabricated for task-specific nd-MSPE of analytes, presenting a prospective strategy for high-efficiency measuring 〈em〉C〈/em〉〈sub〉free〈/sub〉 of contaminants in environments.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118352217-fx1.jpg" width="375" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 252, Part B〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Chuan Ling Zhang, Hong Sheng Jiang, Shu Ping Gu, Xiao Hao Zhou, Zhen Wei Lu, Xiu Han Kang, Liyan Yin, Jiaquan Huang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have adverse impacts on plants when released into environments, but their toxic mechanism is still a matter of debate. Here we present a combined analysis of physiology and transcriptome of 〈em〉Arabidopsis thaliana〈/em〉 leaves exposure to 30 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 AgNPs and Ag〈sup〉+〈/sup〉 for six days to explore the toxicity mechanism of AgNPs on 〈em〉Arabidopsis〈/em〉. Both transcriptomic and physiological results showed that AgNPs induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and damaged photosynthesis. The toxicity of AgNPs is not merely attributable to Ag〈sup〉+〈/sup〉 release and much higher photosynthetic toxicity and ROS accumulation were observed in 30 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 AgNPs than that in 0.12 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 Ag〈sup〉+〈/sup〉. About 60% genes were similarly up- or down-regulated at the same concentration of AgNPs and Ag〈sup〉+〈/sup〉 and these genes were enriched in photosynthesis and response to the stimulus. However, 302 genes, including those involved in glucosinolates synthesis, were specifically regulated under AgNPs treatments. In conclusion, more than the released Ag〈sup〉+〈/sup〉, nanoparticle-specific effects are responsible for the toxicity of AgNPs in 〈em〉Arabidopsis thaliana〈/em〉.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119301150-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 252, Part B〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Shengjin Yan, Yungao Cai, Hongqiang Li, Shaoxian Song, Ling Xia〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Extracellular polymeric substance (EPS)-mineral associations occur naturally in soil and sediments, and they might play crucial roles in heavy metals immobilization. In this study, EPS-montmorillonite composites with different weight ratios were characterized and investigated for their Cd(II) sorption behavior. The results showed that the EPS chains can intercalate into montmorillonite layers by hydrogen bonding connection and chemical reaction between C〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/dbnd"〉O, C–N and COO〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 groups with interlayer cations of montmorillonite, therefore promoting delamination of montmorillonite, especially under a lower weight ratio. An enhancement adsorption of heavy metals was obtained with the composites at lower weight ratios of 1:50 and 0.5:50, whereas composites with higher weight ratio of 5:50 presented a reduced adsorption ability, demonstrating that adsorption of Cd(II) onto the EPS-montmorillonite composites was weight ratio dependent. AFM, CLSM, FT-IR and XPS analysis illustrated that the enhancement of sorption under low weight ratio can be attributed to the release of surface active sites of EPS because of reduced aggregation, the increase of negative surface charges when EPS and montmorillonite were interacted and additional bridging of cadmium ions between EPS and montmorillonite. These findings extend the knowledge into the mobility and fate of Cd(II) in organic matter rich soils and sediments.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119314800-fx1.jpg" width="471" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xiaohui Liu, Xiaochun Guo, Ying Liu, Shaoyong Lu, Beidou Xi, Jian Zhang, Zhi Wang, Bin Bi〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Pollution caused by antibiotics has been highlighted in recent decades as a worldwide environmental and health concern. Compared to traditional physical, chemical and biological treatments, constructed wetlands (CWs) have been suggested to be a cost-efficient and ecological technology for the remediation of various kinds of contaminated waters. In this review, 39 antibiotics removal-related studies conducted on 106 treatment systems from China, Spain, Canada, Portugal, etc. were summarized. Overall, the removal efficiency of CWs for antibiotics showed good performance (average value = over 50%), especially vertical flow constructed wetlands (VFCWs) (average value = 80.44%). The removal efficiencies of sulfonamide and macrolide antibiotics were lower than those of tetracycline and quinolone antibiotics. In addition, the relationship between the removal efficiency of antibiotics and chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and ammonia nitrogen (NH〈sub〉3〈/sub〉-N) concentrations showed an inverted U-shaped curve with turning points of 300 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, 57.4 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, 40 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, 3.2 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 and 48 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, respectively. The coexistence of antibiotics with nitrogen and phosphorus slightly reduced the removal efficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus in CWs. The removal effect of horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) had better performance (over 50%) than that of vertical wetlands, especially for sulfonamide resistance genes. Microorganisms are highly sensitive to antibiotics. In fact, microorganisms are one of the main responsible for antibiotic removal. Moreover, due to the selective pressure induced by antibiotics and drug-resistant gene transfer from resistant bacteria to other sensitive strains through their own genetic transfer elements, decreased microbial diversity and increased resistance in sewage have been consistently reported. This review promotes further research on the removal mechanism of antibiotics and ARGs in CWs.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119319177-fx1.jpg" width="302" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Man Qu, Yuexiu Qiu, Yan Kong, Dayong Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Although amino modified nanopolystyrene could cause toxicity on environmental organisms, the effect of amino modification on nanopolystyrene toxicity is still largely unclear. We here employed 〈em〉Caenorhabditis elegans〈/em〉 as an animal model to compare the effects between pristine and amino modified nanopolystyrene particles in inducing reproductive toxicity. Nanopolystyrene (35 nm) could cause the damage on gonad development as indicated by the endpoints of number of total germline cells, length of gonad arm, and relative area of gonad arm. Nanopolystyrene exposure also reduced the reproductive capacity as reflected by the endpoints of brood size and number of fertilized eggs in uterus. Moreover, amino modification enhanced nanopolystyrene toxicity on both the gonad development and the reproductive capacity. Additionally, induction of germline apoptosis and formation of germline DNA damage contributed to the enhancement of nanopolystyrene toxicity in reducing reproductive capacity by amino modification. Our results highlight the potential environmental risk of amino modified nanopolystyrene in inducing reproductive toxicity on gonad development and reproductive capacity of environmental organisms.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Amino modification effectively enhanced the reproductive toxicity on both gonad development and reproductive capacity in nanopolystyrene exposed nematodes.〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S026974911933101X-fx1.jpg" width="384" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Je-Woo Hong, Jinkyu Hong, Eilhann E. Kwon, D.K. Yoon〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Urban heat island (UHI), an iconic consequence of anthropogenic activities and climate condition, affects air pollution, energy use, and health. Therefore, better understanding of the temporal dynamics of UHI is required for sustainable urban planning to mitigate air pollution under a changing climate. Here, we present the evolution of UHI intensity (UHIi) and its controlling factors in the Seoul metropolitan area, Korea, over the last 56 years (1962–2017), which has experienced unique compressed economic growth and urban transformation under monsoon climate. The analysis demonstrated an inverted U-shape long-term variation of UHIi with the progress of urban transformation and economic climate which has not been reported in Asian cities before. Meanwhile, short-term variations in UHIi are related to both diurnal temperature range and duration after rainfall event unlike previous studies, and the UHIi was exacerbated by heat waves. Our findings suggest that the UHIi will exhibit different temporal dynamics with future changes in the monsoon climate, and heat waves in the urban area will be reinforced if current rapid urbanization continues without a shift toward sustainable and equitable development. Asian cities that are likely to face the similar urbanization trajectory and the implications are that urban (re)development strategy considers changes in rainfall magnitude and timing due to monsoon system variation under changing climate and plans to mitigate synergy between heat wave and UHI in this area.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Rises and falls of urban heat island intensity (UHIi) with urbanization in Seoul over the last 56 years (1962–2017).〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119325217-fx1.jpg" width="111" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Shuai Yin, Xiufeng Wang, Xirui Zhang, Meng Guo, Moe Miura, Yi Xiao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, various remote sensing data, modeling data and emission inventories were integrated to analyze the tempo-spatial distribution of biomass burning in mainland Southeast Asia and its effects on the local ambient air quality from 2001 to 2016. Land cover changes have been considered in dividing the biomass burning into four types: forest fires, shrubland fires, crop residue burning and other fires. The results show that the monthly average number of fire spots peaked at 34,512 in March and that the monthly variation followed a seasonal pattern, which was closely related to precipitation and farming activities. The four types of biomass burning fires presented different tempo-spatial distributions. Moreover, the monthly Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), concentration of particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉) and carbon monoxide (CO) total column also peaked in March with values of 0.62, 45 μg/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 and 3.25 × 10〈sup〉18〈/sup〉 molecules/cm〈sup〉2〈/sup〉, respectively. There are significant correlations between the monthly means of AOD (r = 0.74, P 〈 0.001), PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 concentration (r = 0.88, P 〈 0.001), and CO total column (r = 0.82, P 〈 0.001) and the number of fire spots in the fire season. We used Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model to resolve the sources of PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 into 3 factors. The result indicated that the largest contribution (48%) to annual average concentration of PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 was from Factor 1 (dominated by biomass burning), followed by 27% from Factor 3 (dominated by anthropogenic emission), and 25% from Factor 2 (long-range transport/local nature source). The annually anthropogenic emission of CO and PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 from 2001 to 2012 and the monthly emission from the Emission Database for Global Atmosphere Research (EDGAR) were consistent with PMF analysis and further prove that biomass burning is the dominant cause of the variation in the local air quality in mainland Southeast Asia.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119316896-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 253〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): B. Mourier, P. Labadie, M. Desmet, C. Grosbois, J. Raux, M. Debret, Y. Copard, P. Pardon, H. Budzinski, M. Babut〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Bed sediments and a dated sediment core were collected upstream and downstream from the city of Lyon (France) to assess the spatial and temporal trends of contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in this section of the Rhône River. Upstream from Lyon, concentrations of total PFASs (ΣPFASs) in sediments are low (between 0.19 and 2.6 ng g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 dry weight - dw), being characterized by a high proportion of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). Downstream from Lyon, and also from a fluoropolymer manufacturing plant, ΣPFASs concentrations reach 48.7 ng g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 dw. A gradual decrease of concentrations is reported at the coring site further downstream (38 km). Based on a dated sediment core, the temporal evolution of PFASs is reconstructed from 1984 to 2013. Prior to 1987, ΣPFASs concentrations were low (≤2 ng g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 dw), increasing to a maximum of 51 ng g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 dw in the 1990s and then decreasing from 2002 to the present day (∼10 ng g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 dw). In terms of the PFAS pattern, the proportion of perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs) has remained stable since the 1980s (∼10%), whereas large variations are reported for carboxylic acids (PFCAs). Long chain- (C 〉 8) PFCAs characterized by an even number of perfluorinated carbons represent about 74% of the total PFAS load until 2005. However, from 2005 to 2013, the relative contribution of long chain- (C 〉 8) PFCAs with an odd number of perfluorinated carbons reaches 80%. Such changes in the PFAS pattern likely highlight a major shift in the industrial production process. This spatial and retrospective study provides valuable insights into the long-term contamination patterns of PFAS chemicals in river basins impacted by both urban and industrial activities.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119328544-fx1.jpg" width="496" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Palas Samanta, Sookkyung Shin, Sojin Jang, Young-Cheol Song, Sangsil Oh, Jang K. Kim〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The present investigation was aimed to characterize the 〈em〉Ulva〈/em〉 blooms and to identify the probable sources for 〈em〉Ulva〈/em〉 blooms along the Jeju Island coast for pertinent control measures. Algal isotope signatures (δ〈sup〉13〈/sup〉C, δ〈sup〉15〈/sup〉N and δ〈sup〉18〈/sup〉O) and tissue nitrogen and carbon were analyzed to map nutrient sources around the Jeju coastal areas. The algal δ〈sup〉13〈/sup〉C values were ranged from −20.52 to −4.39‰, while δ〈sup〉15〈/sup〉N and δ〈sup〉18〈/sup〉O values ranged from 4.26 to 8.29‰ and 12.80–17.34‰, respectively. Moreover, site-specific significant differences were observed in algal stable isotope (δ〈sup〉13〈/sup〉C, δ〈sup〉15〈/sup〉N and δ〈sup〉18〈/sup〉O) values. The bi-plot (δ〈sup〉15〈/sup〉N 〈em〉vs〈/em〉 δ〈sup〉18〈/sup〉O) diagram indicated four dominant nitrogen sources along the Jeju coast, with 1) soil organic nitrogen mixed with livestock wastes (spring water samples and E), the 2) synthetic fertilizer input (A3 and B2), 3) sewage discharge (D1, D2 and I3) and 4) aquaculture waste (fish farm samples, A4, A5, B1, G and I2). Present findings revealed the different potential nitrogen sources for localized increase of algal growth along the Jeju coast. Finally, the present findings could be used as baseline data for efficient nutrient management to remediate 〈em〉Ulva〈/em〉 blooms along Jeju coastal environment.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119317890-fx1.jpg" width="370" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Betina Lukwambe, Li Zhao, Regan Nicholaus, Wen Yang, Jinyong Zhu, Zhongming Zheng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Integrated systems with appropriate bio-filters can be used to treat aquaculture effluents. However, the information on bio-filters that alters the ecological functions of the bacterioplankton community (BC) in biodegradation of the aquaculture effluents remains controversial. In this study, we implemented a comprehensive restoration technology combined with bio-filters [biofilm, clam (〈em〉Tegillarca granosa〈/em〉), and macrophytes (〈em〉Spartina anglica〈/em〉)] to investigate their influence on the stability of the BC and nutrient removal. We found that the diversity of BC was linked with biogeochemical factors in processing and upcycling nitrogen-rich effluents into high-value biomass. The BC exhibited significant distinct patterns in the bio-filter areas. Potential biomarkers for constrained harmfully algae-bacteria (〈em〉Nitriliruptoraceae, Bacillales,〈/em〉 and 〈em〉Rhodobacteraceae〈/em〉) and nutrient removal were significantly higher in the bio-filters areas. The bio-filters significantly promoted the restoration effects of N and P balance by reducing 82.34% of total nitrogen (TN) and 81.64% of total phosphorus (TP) loads at the water interface. The main mechanisms for TN and TP removal and nutrient transformation were achieved by assimilation and absorption by the emergent macrophytes (〈em〉Spartina anglica〈/em〉). The bio-filters significantly influenced the biodegradability and resolvability of particulate organic matter through ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification of microbes, which meliorated the nutrient removal. Beside bio-filter effects, the BC was significantly controlled by abiotic factors [nitrate (NO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉-N), dissolved oxygen (DO), total nitrogen (TN), and water temperature (WT)], and biotic factors (chlorophyll ɑ and green algae). Our study revealed that the co-existence system with bio-filters may greatly improve our understanding on the ecological functions of the BC in aquaculture systems. Overall, combined bio-filters provide an opportunity for the development of efficient and optimized aquaculture wastewater treatment technology.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119304385-fx1.jpg" width="272" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhou Li, Jun Xiao, Jaivime Evaristo, Zhi Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Analysis of hydrochemical characteristics and controlling factors of streamflow and groundwater in arid regions is important for water security. In this study, we collected samples of streamflow and groundwater from the Wei River in China, analyzed their hydrochemical characteristics, and identified the major solute sources using ion concentrations, δ〈sup〉15〈/sup〉N–NO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 and δ〈sup〉18〈/sup〉O–NO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉. The major downstream ion contents were greater than the corresponding upstream values and the ion content in streamflow during the wet season is much higher than that during the dry season. The water quality during the wet season was unsatisfactory as approximately one third of the water samples were categorized as the worst water quality based on excessive nitrates and carbonate weathering. Rock weathering contributed the greatest proportion of solutes to both streamflow and groundwater. Evaporite dissolution and carbonate weathering dominated solutes in the wet and dry seasons, respectively. Human activities cannot be ignored in certain areas. Fertilizer application accounts for 43% of the total anthropogenic solute inputs. These results point to the increasing impact of agriculture on water quality.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119316677-fx1.jpg" width="456" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kun Zhang, Jiefei Mao, Baoliang Chen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Great attention has been paid on biochar due to potential application as soil amendment. The majority of research concerning the structural evolution of biochar commonly considered biochar as a whole. However, the knowledge of structural evolution of biochar resulting from physicochemical disintegration is rarely known. Biochars in this study were categorized into sedimented particles, suspended coarse particles and soluble components and ultrafine particles according to their suspension property. It was found out that these categories were significantly different in morphology, particle size, and elemental composition, demonstrating the presence of heterostructures in biochar. Additionally, the oxidizability of these heterogeneous particles was tested by Starch potassium iodide method and it presented that the oxidizability of the sedimented particles from high-temperature biochar was the highest. Based on the analysis of Luminescent bacteria test, the toxicity of the soluble components and ultrafine particles of low-temperature biochar was higher than that of high-temperature biochar. The heterogeneous structure of biochar and its effect proposed in this study is beneficial to individualize design of biochar sustainable application and to understand disintegration process and environmental risk of biochar in biochar-amended soil.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119319189-fx1.jpg" width="351" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Chaoqun Wang, Zhengkai Wei, Zhen Han, Jingjing Wang, Xu Zhang, Yanan Wang, Quan Liu, Zhengtao Yang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Cadmium (Cd) is a ubiquitous toxic heavy metal derived mainly from industrial processes. In industrialized societies, individuals are exposed to a plethora of sources of Cd pollution. Cd can trigger serious diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by the over-activating immune system. As an effector mechanism in innate immunity, neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) not only play an important role in defending against infection but also lead to tissue damage. However, the role of NETs in Cd-induced lung damage process has not been previously studied. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential effects of Cd-induced NETs on lung injury 〈em〉in vivo〈/em〉 and further to clarify the molecular mechanisms of Cd-induced NETs formation. 〈em〉In vivo〈/em〉, Cd treatment destroyed the structural integrity of lung tissue and significantly increased the levels of NETs in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). The known NETs inhibitor DNase I ameliorated pathologic changes and significantly decreased levels of NETs in BALF, which suggesting the curial role of NETs in Cd-induced lung injury. Further investigation showed that Cd could significantly trigger NETs formation, which is composed of DNA backbone decorated with histones (H3) and neutrophils elastase (NE). The inhibitors of NADPH oxidase, ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK-signaling pathways significantly reduced the formation of NETs, and western blotting analysis also showed that Cd significantly increased the phosphorylation of p38 and ERK1/2 signaling pathways. Above results confirmed that NADPH oxidase, ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK-signaling pathways were related to Cd-induced NETs formation. In conclusion, NETs was involved in Cd-induced lung injury, and the mechanisms of Cd-induced NETs formation was via activating NADPH oxidase, ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK-signaling pathways, which might provide a new perspective in Cd-induced lung injury.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119317774-egi1030TX1H746.jpg" width="201" alt="Image 10301746" title="Image 10301746"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhen Zhang, Shuran He, Yulong Zhang, Kun Zhang, Jinjin Wang, Ran Jing, Xingjian Yang, Zheng Hu, Xiaojing Lin, Yongtao Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In the present study, the competitive adsorption of Cu〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, Pb〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, and Cd〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 by a novel natural adsorbent (i.e., argillaceous limestone) modified with chitosan (C-AL) was investigated. The results demonstrated that both intraparticle diffusion and chemisorption marked significant contributions to the Cu〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 adsorption process by both raw argillaceous limestone (R-AL) and C-AL in mono-metal adsorption systems. Antagonism was found to be the predominant competitive effect for Cu〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, Pb〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 and Cd〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 adsorptions by C-AL in the multi-metal adsorption system. The three-dimensional simulation and FTIR analysis revealed that the presence of Cu〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 suppressed Pb〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 and Cd〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 adsorptions, while the effect of Cd〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 on Cu〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 and Pb〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 adsorptions was insignificant. The spectroscopic analyses evidenced that amide groups in C-AL played a crucial role in metal adsorption. The preferential adsorptions of Pb〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 〉 Cu〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 〉 Cd〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 were likely due to the different affinities of the metals to the lone pair of electrons on the N atom from the amide groups and/or the O atoms from the –OH and -COO〈sup〉-〈/sup〉 groups on C-AL. The interactions between C-AL and metal ions and between various metal species influenced their competitive adsorption behaviors. C-AL exhibited a superior metal adsorption capacity in comparison with that the capacities of other natural adsorbents reported during the last decade, suggesting its potential practical applications.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119327496-fx1.jpg" width="244" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hong-Jie Sun, Jing-Ying Zhang, Qiang Wang, Engao Zhu, Wenrong Chen, Hongjun Lin, Jianrong Chen, Huachang Hong〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Arsenic (As) present in water is a nonignorable environmental issue, even at low concentrations (≤150 μg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉). To evaluate the toxic effect of low concentrations of As, zebrafish at early life stage were exposed to 0, 25, 50, 75, or 150 μg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 AsIII for 120 h. Our results indicated that low concentration of AsIII decreased zebrafish larvae’s survival rate to 85%, 89% and 86% at 50, 75 and 150 μg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. Furthermore, low concentrations of AsIII exposure caused oxidative stress (elevated superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and influenced the mRNA transcriptional levels of Cu/ZnSOD and MnSOD) and damage (increased malondialdehyde levels). Meanwhile, zebrafish larvae regulated the mRNA transcription of metallothionein and heat shock protein 70 to alleviate toxicity caused by AsIII. These results revealed lower concentrations (≤150 μg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) of AsIII had a detriment effect on the survival of fish at early life stage, moreover, oxidative stress caused by AsIII posed potential risk for the zebrafish. This study provides novel insight into low concentration AsIII-induced toxicity in zebrafish.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119318160-egi10GHRT4W4V7.jpg" width="335" alt="Image 10447" title="Image 10447"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): C. Barrientos, J. Tapia, C. Bertrán, F. Peña-Cortés, E. Hauenstein, P. Fierro, L. Vargas-Chacoff〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Cu, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cd and Pb levels were measured in liver and muscle samples of Rainbow Trout 〈em〉Oncorhynchus mykiss〈/em〉 collected from three watersheds with different land-uses: native forest, exotic plantation, and agriculture in Chile, during January, April, July, and October 2012. Cd and Pb levels were not detected in the liver and muscle, probably since they are under the detection limits. Higher metal concentrations (liver-muscle tissues) were detected in samples from agriculture and exotic plantation streams, whereas trout from native forest streams had lower metal concentrations. Higher metal concentrations were detected in liver tissue compared to muscle tissue, and both negatively correlated to the length and weight of the fish. This suggest the liver had higher ability to accumulate Cu, Mn, Fe and Zn compared to muscle tissue. The concentration range of Fe and Zn recorded in the muscle are within the range reported by other authors, whereas Mn and Cu concentrations are higher than reported in the literature. However, at all sites the concentration of selected metals were below the limits permitted by current legislation (FAO), and therefore did not put the human population at risk, suggesting that is eating wild rainbow trout safe in Chile.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119326090-fx1.jpg" width="361" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Anita Jemec Kokalj, Dana Kuehnel, Brina Puntar, Andreja Žgajnar Gotvajn, Gabriela Kalčikova〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Current understanding of how environmental aging of microplastics contributes to their ecotoxicity is low. We investigated whether incubation of microplastics in waters with different organic load and toxic potential alters the toxicity of microplastics to crustacean 〈em〉Daphnia magna〈/em〉, fish embryos 〈em〉Danio rerio〈/em〉 and plant 〈em〉Lemna minor〈/em〉. Polyethylene primary microplastics; specifically microbeads from facial scrub; were subjected to 3-weeks incubation in low affected spring water, river water, effluent from the municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and municipal landfill leachate. Primary microplastics had no acute effect on 〈em〉D. magna〈/em〉 mobility and 〈em〉D. rerio〈/em〉 embryos development. While high organic load wastewaters; WWTP effluent and landfill leachate; showed evident toxicity for 〈em〉D. magna〈/em〉 and 〈em〉D. rerio〈/em〉 embryos, microplastics aged in these wastewaters had no effect. This suggests that adsorption of pollutants from wastewaters to microplastic particles was not high enough to induce acute toxicity to 〈em〉D. magna〈/em〉 and 〈em〉D. rerio〈/em〉. On the contrary, primary microplastics affected the root growth of 〈em〉L. minor.〈/em〉 Interestingly, aging of microplastics in low organic-load waters mitigated the toxicity of microplastics for 〈em〉L. minor〈/em〉, while microplastics aged in high-organic load waters had the same adverse effect as primary microplastics. Partly, these effects can be explained by different extent of coating on microplastics in different water samples. This study suggests that aging of microplastics in wastewaters and natural waters did not significantly enhance the toxicity to selected test species, but further studies on plants may be of interest.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119331586-fx1.jpg" width="273" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kimberly J. Hageman, Christopher H.F. Aebig, Kim Hoang Luong, Sarit L. Kaserzon, Charles S. Wong, Tim Reeks, Michelle Greenwood, Samuel Macaulay, Christoph D. Matthaei〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉New Zealand uses more than a ton of pesticides each year; many of these are mobile, relatively persistent, and can make their way into waterways. While considerable effort goes into monitoring nutrients in agricultural streams and programs exist to monitor pesticides in groundwater, very little is known about pesticide detection frequencies, concentrations, or their potential impacts in New Zealand streams. We used the ‘Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler’ (POCIS) approach and grab water sampling to survey pesticide concentrations in 36 agricultural streams in Waikato, Canterbury, Otago and Southland during a period of stable stream flows in Austral summer 2017/18. We employed a new approach for calculating site-specific POCIS sampling rates. We also tested two novel passive samplers designed to reduce the effects of hydrodynamic conditions on sampling rates: the ‘Organic-Diffusive Gradients in Thin Films’ (o-DGT) aquatic passive sampler and microporous polyethylene tubes (MPTs) filled with Strata-X sorbent. Multiple pesticides were found at most sites; two or more were detected at 78% of sites, three or more at 69% of sites, and four or more at 39% of sites. Chlorpyrifos concentrations were the highest, with a maximum concentration of 180 ng/L. Concentrations of the other pesticides were generally below 20 ng/L. Mean concentrations of individual pesticides were not correlated with in-stream nutrient concentrations. The majority of pesticides were detected most frequently in POCIS, presumably due to its higher sampling rate and the relatively low concentrations of these pesticides. In contrast, chlorpyrifos was most frequently detected in grab samples. Chlorpyrifos concentrations at two sites were above the 21-day chronic ‘No Observable Effect Concentration’ (NOEC) values for fish and another two sites had concentrations greater than 50% of the NOEC. Otherwise, concentrations were well-below NOEC values, but close to the New Zealand Environmental Exposure Limits in several cases.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118358925-fx1.jpg" width="346" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Lei Luo, Zien Chen, Yuan Cheng, Jitao Lv, Dong Cao, Bei Wen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) has a major influence upon sorption/desorption and transport of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) in soil environments. However, the molecular mechanisms of DOC sorption and its effects on aged HOC desorption in contaminated soils still remain largely unclear. Here, effects of three different DOC (one from commercial peat and two from biochars produced at 300 °C and 500 °C pyrolysis temperatures, respectively) and oxalate (as a reference) on abiotic desorption behavior of aged phenanthrene from three agricultural soils were investigated. Results showed that desorption of aged phenanthrene from soils was predominantly dependent on soil organic carbon content. The presence of DOC and oxalate resulted in higher desorption of phenanthrene compared to water alone, and the effects were positively related to soil organic carbon content and DOC/oxalate concentration. The facilitating effects of DOC were further increased during the second consecutive desorption, whereas oxalate had no such effect. Ultra-high-resolution Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectrometry confirmed the molecular fractionation of DOC at the soil-water interface during DOC sorption. Specifically, the DOC molecules with O-rich moieties were preferentially adsorbed, whereas the molecules with phenolic and aromatic structures were selectively retained in the soil solutions through competitive displacement and co-sorption reactions during sorption. The enriched phenyl structures in the retained DOC facilitated its association with phenanthrene in the solutions and thus the release of phenanthrene from the soils. In contrast, oxalate replaced some organic carbon from the soils and thus released the associated phenanthrene into the solutions. Our findings highlight the importance of the molecular composition and structure of DOC for the desorption of phenanthrene in soil-water environments, which may help improve our understanding of the release and transport of organic compounds in the environments.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119316239-fx1.jpg" width="425" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Camilla Carla Parenti, Anna Ghilardi, Camilla Della Torre, Stefano Magni, Luca Del Giacco, Andrea Binelli〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉One of the current main challenges faced by the scientific community is concerning the fate and toxicity of plastics, due to both the well-known threats made by larger plastic items spreading in ecosystems and their fragmentation into micro- and nanoparticles. Since the chemical and physical characteristics of these smaller plastic fragments are markedly different with respect to their bulk product, the potential toxicological effects in the environment need to be deeply investigated. To partially fill this gap of knowledge, the aim of this study was to evaluate the polystyrene nanobead intake in the tissues of zebrafish (〈em〉Danio rerio〈/em〉) embryos and their related toxicity. Embryos at 72 h post fertilization (hpf) were exposed for 48 h to 0.5 μm fluorescent polystyrene nanobeads at a concentration of 1 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. Confocal microscopy was employed to investigate nanoplastic ingestion and tissue infiltration, while potential sub-lethal effects were evaluated by measuring several endpoints, which covered the adverse effects at the molecular (protein carbonylation), cellular (P-glycoprotein, activity of several antioxidant/detoxifying enzymes) and organism levels by evaluating of possible changes in the embryos' swimming behaviour. Imaging observations clearly highlighted the nanoplastics' uptake, showing nanobeads not only in the digestive tract, but also migrating to other tissues through the gut epithelium. Biomarker analyses revealed a significant decrease in cyclooxygenase activity and an induction of superoxide dismutase. The behavioural test highlighted a significant (p 〈 0.05) variation in the turn angle between the control and exposed embryos. This study points out the capability of nanoplastics to infiltrate zebrafish embryo tissues, even after a short exposure, thus suggesting the need for deeper investigations following longer exposure times, and highlighting the potential of nanoplastics to cause toxicological effects on freshwater organisms, at the organism level.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119315945-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yiguang Qian, Ke Chen, Yaqing Liu, Juying Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) was firstly applied to explore the biodegradation of hexachlorcyclohexane (HCH) isomers in contaminated soil. Concentrations and compound-specific carbon isotope ratio profiles of HCH in different specific 〈em〉ex-situ〈/em〉 pilot-scale contaminated soil mesocosms were determined. The addition of nutrients and 〈em〉Sphingobium〈/em〉 spp. significantly enhanced the degradation of HCH in contaminated soils within 90 days. Isomer specific biodegradation of HCHs was observed with α- and γ-HCH being more degradable than β and δ-HCH. Stable carbon isotope fractionation of HCH was observed and the δ〈sup〉13〈/sup〉C values shifted from −28.8 ± 0.3‰ to −24.8 ± 0.7‰ upon 87.3% removal, −27.9 ± 0.2‰ to −25.9 ± 0.5‰ upon 72.8% removal, −29.4 ± 0.3‰ to −19.9 ± 0.6‰ upon 95.8% removal, and −27.8 ± 0.5‰ to −23.6 ± 0.7‰ after 96.9% removal for α, β, γ, and δ-HCH, respectively. Furthermore, the enrichment factor ε for α, β, γ, and δ-HCH biodegradation in soil was obtained for the first time as −2.0‰, −1.5‰, −3.2‰, and −1.4‰, which could play a critical role in assessing 〈em〉in situ〈/em〉 biodegradation of HCH isomers in field site soil. Results from ex-situ pilot-scale experiments clearly demonstrated that CSIA could be a promising tool to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate 〈em〉in situ〈/em〉 biodegradation of HCH in contaminated field site.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119328003-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mengling Tang, Chenye Xu, Kun Chen, Qi Yan, Weihua Mao, Weiping Liu, Beate Ritz〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Breast milk, especially colostrum, is not just a source of nutrients and immune factors for the newborn, but also accumulates environmental persistent pollutants and its diverse microbes affect the early colonization of the newborn's gut. Little is known about associations between environmental pollutants and the microbial composition of human colostrum. We assessed the influence of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), a persistent organic pollutant (POP), in colostrums on the microbial composition of human colostrum samples. HCH concentrations in 89 colostrum samples collected from a population living on the easternmost island of China were measured via gas chromatography equipped with mass spectrometer (GC-MS), HCH exposure risks for infants via dietary intake of breast milk were assessed, and for 29 colostrum samples the microbiota were profiled using 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing to assess the association with HCH exposure levels. Our study confirmed high colostrum exposure levels of total HCHs (12.19 ± 13.68 μg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) in this Chinese population. We predominantly identified Proteobacteria (67.6%) and Firmicutes (25.1%) in colostrum and microbial diversity at the genus level differed between samples with different HCH levels; e.g., 〈em〉Pseudomonas〈/em〉 which contains several HCH degrading strains was found in significantly higher abundance in γ-HCH rich samples. Also, microbes that were statistically significantly associated with HCH levels were also highly correlated with each other (false discovery rate (FDR)＜0.01) and clustered in network analysis. Microbial diversity is associated with HCH levels in human colostrum and these associations might be attributable to their HCH degrading ability. These finding provide first insights into the role that environmental persistent pollutants may play in the microbial composition of human colostrum and the colonization of the infant gut.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119318603-fx1.jpg" width="407" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Fatemeh Shabani, Ali Nasrolahi, Martin Thiel〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Global concern about floating marine debris and its fundamental role in shaping coastal biodiversity is growing, yet there is very little knowledge about debris-associated rafting communities in many areas of the world's oceans. In the present study, we examined the encrusting assemblage on different types of stranded debris (wood, plastic, glass, and metal cans) along the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf. In total, 21 taxa were identified on 132 items. The average frequency of occurrence (±SE) across all sites and stranded debris showed that the barnacle 〈em〉Amphibalanus amphitrite〈/em〉 (68.9 ± 1.1%), the oyster 〈em〉Saccostrea cucullata〈/em〉 (40.9 ± 0.7%), the polychaete 〈em〉Spirobranchus kraussii〈/em〉 (27.3 ± 0.5%), green algae (22 ± 0.5%) and the coral 〈em〉Paracyathus stokesii〈/em〉 (14.4 ± 0.7%) occurred most frequently. Relative substratum coverage was highest for 〈em〉A. amphitrite〈/em〉 (44.3 ± 2.7%), followed by green algae (14.4 ± 1.5%), 〈em〉Spirobranchus kraussii〈/em〉 (9.3 ± 1.3%), 〈em〉Saccostrea cucullata〈/em〉 (7.6 ± 1.3%) and the barnacle 〈em〉Microeuraphia permitini〈/em〉 (5.8 ± 0.9%). Despite the significant difference in coverage of rafting species on plastic items among different sites, there was no clear and consistent trend of species richness and coverage from the eastern (Strait of Hormuz) to the western part of the Persian Gulf. Some rafting species (bryozoans and likely barnacles) were found to be non-indigenous species in the area. As floating marine debris can transport non-indigenous species and increase the risk of bio-invasions to this already naturally- and anthropogenically-stressed water body, comprehensive monitoring efforts should be made to elucidate the vectors and arrival of new invasive species to the region.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119315404-fx1.jpg" width="419" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): E. Galdiero, R. Carotenuto, A. Siciliano, G. Libralato, M. Race, G. Lofrano, M. Fabbricino, M. Guida〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Cerium (Ce, CeCl〈sub〉3〈/sub〉) and Erbium (Er, ErCl〈sub〉3〈/sub〉) are increasingly used in many electronic devices facilitating the alteration of their biogeochemical cycles (e.g. e-waste). Previous surveys stated that their environmental concentrations due to natural or anthropogenic events can reach up to 161 μg/L in ore mine effluent for Ce with a mean water concentration of 0.79 μg/L, and 11.9 μg/L for Er in ore mine effluents with a mean water concentration of 0.004 μg/L. Their potential effects onto aquatic organisms are still relatively unexplored. In this study, long-term multigenerational effects on 〈em〉Daphnia magna〈/em〉 were assessed using various exposure times (3, 7, 14, and 21 days) in three generations (F0, F1 and F2). Each generation was exposed to environmental concentrations of Ce and Er (0.54 and 0.43 μg/L, respectively – mean values) and effects included organisms' size, parental reproduction, and survival, determination of reactive oxygen species (ROS), enzymatic activity (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione S-transferase (GST)), gene expression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter, and uptake.〈/p〉 〈p〉Results evidenced that chronic multi-generational exposure of daphnids to Ce and Er reduced survival, growth and reproduction, decreasing ROS, SOD and CAT from F0 to F2. Ce reduced the number of generated offsprings after each generation, while Er delayed the time of offsprings emergence, but not their number. ROS, SOD, CAT and GST evidenced that Er is slightly more toxic than Ce. Up- and downregulation of genes was limited, but Ce and Er activated the ABC transporters. Uptake of Ce and Er decreased through exposure time and generations.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S026974911932531X-fx1.jpg" width="377" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yi Huang, Yanran Zhao, Jie Wang, Mengjun Zhang, Weiqian Jia, Xiao Qin〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Concerns regarding microplastic contamination have spread from aquatic environments to terrestrial systems with a growing number of studies have been reported. Notwithstanding, the potential effects on soil ecosystems remain largely unexplored. In this study, the effects of polyethylene microplastics on soil enzymatic activities and the bacterial community were evaluated, and the microbiota colonizing on microplastics were also investigated. Microplastic amendment (2000 fragments per kg soil) significantly increased the urease and catalase activities in soil after 15 days, and no discernible alteration of invertase activities was detected. Results from high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA revealed that the alpha diversities (richness, evenness, and diversity) of the microbiota in soil were not obviously changed by the PE amendment, whereas the diversity indexes of microbiota on plastic fragments were significantly lower than those in the control and amended soils. Different taxonomic composition was observed in between the control and amended soils after 90 days of incubation. Bacterial assemblages with distinct community structure colonized the PE microplastics. Additionally, several taxa including plastic-degrading bacteria and pathogens were more abundant on microplastics. Simultaneously, the predicted functional profiles showed that the pathways of amino acid metabolism and xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism were higher on the microplastics. These results indicated that microplastics in soil, compared with those in aquatic environments, can also act as a distinct microbial habitat, potentially altering the ecological functions of soil ecosystems.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jie Ning, Peiyuan Li, Boyuan Zhang, Bin Han, Xuan Su, Qian Wang, Xiurong Wang, Binghua Li, Hui Kang, Lixiao Zhou, Chen Chu, Ning Zhang, Yaxian Pang, Yujie Niu, Rong Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) as an environmental pollution has been associated with the lung cancer. However, the mechanism of epigenetics such as miRNAs deregulation between PM2.5-exposure and lung cancer has not been elucidated clearly. Twenty C57BL/6 mice were divided randomly into 2 groups and exposed to the filtered air (FA) and the concentrated air (CA), respectively. The FA mice were exposed to filtered air in chambers with a high-efficient particulate air filter (HEPA-filter), and the CA mice were exposed to concentration ambient PM2.5. The total duration of exposure was performed 6 h per day from December 1st, 2017 to January 27th, 2018. The mice exposed 900.21 μg/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 PM2.5 for 6 h per day in CA chamber, which was nearly equaled to 225.05 μg/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 for 24-h calculatingly. After exposure, the serum miRNAs levels were detected by microarray. Genetic and pathological alterations in lung of mice with/without PM2.5 exposure were detected. 38 differential miRNAs in serum of mice were found after PM2.5 exposure for 8 weeks. Among of them, 13 miRNAs related with lung cancer were consistent in serum and lung of mice. The target genes of 13 deregulated miRNAs including CRK, NR2F2, VIM, RASSF1, CCND2, PRKCA, SIRT1, CDK6, MAP3K7, HIF1A, UBE2V2, ATG10, BAX, E2F1, RASSF5 and CTNNB1, could involve in the pathway of lung cancer developing. Compared with the FA group, the significantly increases of histopathological changes, ROS and DNA damage were observed in lung of mice in CA group. Our study suggested that miRNAs in serum could be identified as candidate biomarkers to predict the lung cancer development during early PM2.5 exposure.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119325138-fx1.jpg" width="300" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Melissa Khadra, Dolors Planas, Philippe Brodeur, Marc Amyot〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Whereas early life stages are usually considered as particularly sensitive to both organic and inorganic contaminants, field studies assessing contaminant bioaccumulation in these stages are scarce. Selenium (Se) is thought to counteract Hg toxic effects when it is found at Se:Hg molar ratios above 1. However, the variation of this ratio in key fish tissues of different early life stages is mostly unknown. The present study therefore aimed to assess Hg and Se content in gravid female tissues (gonads, muscle, liver, gut, and brain) and different life stages (egg masses, newly hatched larvae (NHL), larvae and juvenile) of Yellow Perch (YP) in a large fluvial lake (Lake Saint-Pierre, Québec, Canada). Se:Hg molar ratios were measured for each compartment in order to fill associated knowledge gaps. Total Hg (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) concentration varied between tissue according to the following trend: Muscle 〉 Liver 〉 Gut 〉 Brain 〉 Gonads. During YP early life stages, MeHg values increased according to an ontogenetic pattern (mg/kg dw) (mean ± SEM): Egg masses (0.01 ± 0.002) 〈 NHL (0.015 ± 0.001) 〈 Larvae (0.14 ± 0.01) 〈 Juveniles (0.18 ± 0.01). Se concentrations in different YP tissues showed the following trend (mg/kg dw) (mean ± SEM): Gut (3.6 ± 0.1) 〉 Liver (2.5 ± 0.1) 〉 Gonads (1.92 ± 0.06) 〉 Brain (1.26 ± 0.03) 〉 Muscle (1.23 ± 0.06). In YP early life stages, Se concentrations were highest in NHL (3.0 ± 0.2), and then decreased as follows: Egg masses (2.8 ± 0.1) 〉 Larvae (1.37 ± 0.04) 〉 Juveniles (0.93 ± 0.05). Se:Hg molar ratios varied considerably and were systematically above 1. This is the first study to simultaneously report Hg and Se bioaccumulation through fish life cycle.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119324467-fx1.jpg" width="290" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Matthias Tamminga, Sarah-Christin Stoewer, Elke K. Fischer〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉To broaden the understanding of sources, pathways and sinks for microplastic pollution in the environment, the exact and representative determination of pollution levels is crucial. Still, sampling techniques differ greatly between studies and the influence of these differences is not fully understood. Thus, we evaluate the representativeness of manta trawling and pump sampling for microplastics in a freshwater lake. While large microplastics are not captured by most pump sampling approaches due to their low abundance, small and fibrous microplastics pass the relatively coarse nets of volume-reduced techniques. Testing different water volumes for pump samples, we show that sample volumes should be large enough to minimize overestimation induced by scaling up results. Moreover, we discuss the influence of sample numbers for microplastic analysis. Finally, we argue that manta trawling and pump sampling are complementary techniques, as they cover different parts of the overall microplastic pollution.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119329628-fx1.jpg" width="475" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Semih Oguzcan, Jolanta Dvarioniene, Alessandro Tugnoli, Jolita Kruopiene〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Regulations that are indirectly driving the substitution of hazardous chemicals, such as the EU REACH regulation, necessitate improvements in chemical alternatives assessment frameworks. In those frameworks, life cycle thinking lacks some important aspects such as systematic and quantitative occupational safety methods and risks from intermediate chemicals that are not released to the environment under normal operating conditions. Concerns of companies about regulatory drivers regarding substances of very high concern often lead to inadequate evaluation of the baseline situation; an issue also overlooked by the frameworks. Moreover, life cycle assessment is optional for assessors with limited resources, such as small and medium enterprises. However, the success of substitution should not be evaluated without life cycle concerns. An environmental impact assessment model has been suggested to overcome these shortcomings of the chemical alternatives assessment frameworks. The model was applied to a case study of primed metal sheet production, where the company was driven to substitute reprotoxic 2-methoxypropanol used in their formulations. The results show that the proposed model is promising for solving the mentioned shortcomings, informing the assessor about substances of very high concern along the life cycle, and it has the potential to be further improved with the help of supporting software and databases. Particularly, in the occupational safety area that concerns risks of accidents at work, improvements to the EU occupational health database can drastically increase the accuracy of the assessments. Besides, the development of methodologies for the quantification of the impacts of reprotoxic, bioaccumulative and endocrine disruptor substances is necessary.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S026974911931437X-egi10WMGXP4ZXH.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 104" title="Image 104"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): S. Felline, L. Del Coco, S. Kaleb, G. Guarnieri, S. Fraschetti, A. Terlizzi, F.P. Fanizzi, A. Falace〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Glyphosate, as a broad-spectrum herbicide, is frequently detected in water and several studies have investigated its effects on several freshwater aquatic organisms. Yet, only few investigations have been performed on marine macroalgae. Here, we studied both the metabolomics responses and the effect on primary production in the endemic brown algae 〈em〉Fucus virsoides〈/em〉 exposed to different concentration (0, 0.5, 1.5 and 2.5 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) of a commercial glyphosate-based herbicide, namely Roundup®. Our results show that Roundup® significantly reduced quantum yield of photosynthesis (F〈sub〉v〈/sub〉/F〈sub〉m〈/sub〉) and caused alteration in the metabolomic profiles of exposed thalli compared to controls. Together with the decrease in the aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine and tyrosine), an increase in shikimate content was detected. The branched-amino acids differently varied according to levels of herbicide exposure, as well as observed for the content of choline, formate, glucose, malonate and fumarate. Our results suggest that marine primary producers could be largely affected by the agricultural land use, this asking for further studies addressing the ecosystem-level effects of glyphosate-based herbicides in coastal waters.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119318986-fx1.jpg" width="272" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhendong Zhao, Tiantian Nie, Wenjun Zhou〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The silica-composited biochars (SBC) were synthesized by adding silica particulates into bamboo biomass during pyrolysis at 700 °C to examine the effect of silica addition on biochar stabilities and adsorption properties for tetracycline (TC). Silica addition increased the total pore volume and average pore diameter of biochar due to the abundant mesopores in SBC, but decreased specific surface area due to the blockage of biochar pore with silica particles. Biochar stability was obviously enhanced with silica addition due to the decreased atomic ratio of H/C and O/C, the reduced C loss amount after chemical oxidation treatment, and the increased thermal stability. The adsorption capacities of SBC for TC were greatly enhanced with silica addition and increased with the increasing silica addition amount, which can be attributed to the facilitating effect of 〈em〉π〈/em〉–〈em〉π〈/em〉 electron donor acceptor (EDA) interaction and pore-filling effect. In addition, silica addition can also effectively enhance the oxidation resistance of biochar for TC adsorption, since the decreased degree (〈em〉δ〈/em〉) of TC adsorption amounts on the biochars after chemical oxidation decreased with the increasing silica addition level. The observed positive correlations between 〈em〉δ〈/em〉 values and the corresponding C loss amount of biochars after chemical oxidation suggested that the high carbon stability was favorable for the maintenance of biochar adsorption capacity. These results can provide a new way to improve biochar stabilities, aging resistance, and adsorption properties for organic pollutants.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119326259-fx1.jpg" width="337" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Geetika Sonkar, R.K. Mall, Tirthankar Banerjee, Nidhi Singh, T.V. Lakshmi Kumar, Ramesh Chand〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Potential impacts of change in climate on Indian agriculture may be significantly adverse, if not disastrous. There are projections of potential loss in wheat yield due to the rise in daily minimum (Tmin) and maximum (Tmax) temperature, but only few researchers have considered the extent of such loss on a spatial scale. We therefore, systematically studied the effect of change in Tmax, Tmean (daily average temperature) and Tmin, solar radiation (Srad) and precipitation (RAIN) during wheat growing seasons (from 1986 to 2015) on wheat crop yield over five wheat growing zones across India, taking into account the effect modification by aerosol loading (in terms of aerosol optical depth, 2001–2015). We note that for the entire India, 1 °C rise in Tmean resulted a 7% decrease in wheat yield which varied disproportionately across the crop growing zones by a range of −9% (peninsular zone, PZ) to 4% (northern hills zone, NHZ). The effect of Tmean on wheat yield was identical to the marginal effect of Tmax and Tmin, while 1% increase in Srad enhance wheat yield by 4% for all India with small geographical variations (2–5%), except for the northern hill region (−4%). Rise in 1 °C Tmean exclusively during grain filling duration was noted positive for all the wheat growing regions (0–2%) except over central plain zone (−3%). When estimates of weather variables on wheat yield was combined with the estimated impact of aerosols on weather, the most significant impact was noted over the NHZ (−23%), which otherwise varied from −7% to −4%. Overall, the study brings out the conclusive evidence of negative impact of rising temperature on wheat yield across India, which we found spatially inconsistent and highly uncertain when integrated with the compounding effect of aerosols loading.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Percent change in wheat yield with unit increase different temperature matrices during grain filling.〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119309698-fx1.jpg" width="154" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yanling Zheng, Lijun Hou, Min Liu, Guoyu Yin〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is recognized as an important bioprocess for nitrogen removal, yet little is known about the associated microbial communities in urban river networks which are intensively disturbed by human activity. In the present study, we investigated the community composition and abundance of anammox bacteria in the urban river network of Shanghai, and explored their potential correlations with nitrogen removal activities and the environmental parameters. High biodiversity of anammox bacteria was detected in the sediment of urban river networks, including 〈em〉Candidatus〈/em〉 Brocadia, Scalindua, Jettenia, and Kuenenia. Anammox bacterial abundance ranged from 3.7 × 10〈sup〉6〈/sup〉 to 3.9 × 10〈sup〉7〈/sup〉 copies g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 dry sediment based on 16S rRNA gene, which was strongly correlated to the metabolic activity of anammox bacteria (〈em〉P〈/em〉 〈 0.01). A strong linkage between anammox bacteria and denitrifiers was detected (〈em〉P〈/em〉 〈 0.05), implying a potential metabolic interdependence between these two nitrogen-removing microbes was existed in urban river networks. Sediment ammonium (NH〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉+〈/sup〉) made a significant contribution to the anammox bacterial community-environment relationship, while anammox bacterial abundance related significantly with sediment total organic carbon (TOC) and silt contents (〈em〉P〈/em〉 〈 0.05). However, no statistically significant correlation was observed between cell-specific anammox rate and the measured environmental factors (〈em〉P〈/em〉 〉 0.05). In general, the community composition and abundance of anammox bacteria in different hierarchies of the river network was homogeneous, without significant spatial variations (〈em〉P〈/em〉 〉 0.05). These results provided an opportunity to further understand the microbial mechanism of nitrogen removal bioprocesses in urban river networks.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119326442-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Rui Hou, Xiaoshan Luo, Chuangchuang Liu, Lihua Zhou, Junlin Wen, Yong Yuan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) is one of the major organophosphate esters (OPEs) with increasing consumption. Considering its largely distribution and high toxicity in aquatic environment, it is important to explore an efficient treatment for TPHP. This study aimed to investigate the accelerated degradation of TPHP in a three-electrode single chamber bioelectrochemical system (BES). Significant increase of degradation efficiency of TPHP in the BES was observed compared with open circuit and abiotic controls. The one-order degradation rates of TPHP (1.5 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) were increased with elevating sodium acetate concentrations and showed the highest value (0.054 ± 0.010 h〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) in 1.0 g L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 of sodium acetate. This result indicated bacterial metabolism of TPHP was enhanced by the application of micro-electrical field and addition acetate as co-substrates. TPHP could be degraded into diphenyl phosphate (DPHP), hydroxyl triphenyl phosphate (OH-TPHP) and three byproducts. DPHP was the most accumulated degradation product in BES, which accounted more than 35.5% of the initial TPHP. The composition of bacterial community in BES electrode was affected by the acclimation by TPHP, with the most dominant bacteria of 〈em〉Azospirillum〈/em〉, 〈em〉Petrimonas〈/em〉, 〈em〉Pseudomonas〈/em〉 and 〈em〉Geobacter〈/em〉 at the genera level. Moreover, it was found that the acute toxic effect of TPHP to 〈em〉Vibrio fischeri〈/em〉 was largely removed after the treatment, which revealed that BES is a promising technology to remove TPHP threaten in aquatic environment.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119325011-fx1.jpg" width="378" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kamolrat Sangkharat, Paul Fisher, G. Neil Thomas, John Thornes, Francis D. Pope〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A number of systematic reviews have investigated the association between air pollutants and health impacts, these mostly focus on morbidity and mortality from hospital data. Previously, no reviews focused solely on ambulance dispatch data. These data sets have excellent potential for environmental health research. For this review, publications up to April 2019 were identified using three main search categories covering: ambulance services including dispatches; air pollutants; and health outcomes. From 308 studies initially identified, 275 were excluded as they did not relate to ambulance service dispatches, did not report the air pollutant association, and/or did not study ambient air pollution. The main health outcomes in the remaining 33 studies were cardiac arrest (n = 14), cardiovascular (n = 11) and respiratory (n = 10) dispatches. Meta-analyses were performed to summarise pooled relative risk (RR) of pollutants: particulate matter less than 2.5 and 10 μm (PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉, PM〈sub〉10〈/sub〉), the fraction between PM〈sub〉10〈/sub〉 and PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 (coarse) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) per 10 μg/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 increase, carbon monoxide (CO) per 1 ppm increase and of sulphur dioxide (SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉), nitrogen dioxide (NO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉), and ozone (O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉) per 10 ppb increment and ambulance dispatches. Statistically significant associations were found for ambulance dispatch data for all-respiratory and PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 at 1.03 (95% CI:1.02–1.04) and at 1.10 (95% CI:1.00–1.21) for asthma and NO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 associations. For dispatches with subsequent paramedic assessment for cardiac arrest with PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉, CO and coarse dispatches at 1.05 (95% CI:1.03–1.08), 1.10 (95% CI:1.02–1.18) and 1.04 (95% CI:1.01–1.06) respectively. For dispatches with subsequent physician diagnosis for all-respiratory and PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 at 1.02 (95% CI:1.01–1.03). In conclusion, air pollution was significantly associated with an increase in ambulance dispatch data, including those for cardiac arrest, all-respiratory, and asthma dispatches. Ambulance services should plan accordingly during pollution events. Furthermore, efforts to improve air quality should lead to decreases in ambulance dispatches.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118343392-fx1.jpg" width="137" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Minhua Su, Daniel C.W. Tsang, Xinyong Ren, Qingpu Shi, Jinfeng Tang, Hongguo Zhang, Lingjun Kong, Li'an Hou, Gang Song, Diyun Chen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The effluents from nuclear mining processes contain relatively high content of radionuclides (such as uranium), which may seriously threaten the environment and human health. Herein, a novel adsorbent, porous hydroxyapatite, was prepared and proven highly efficient for removal of uranyl ions (U(VI)) given its high U(VI) uptake capacity of 111.4 mg/g, fast adsorption kinetics, and the potential stabilization of adsorbed U(VI). A nearly complete removal of U(VI) was achieved by porous HAP under optimized conditions. Langmuir model could well describe the adsorption equilibrium. The data fit well with pseudo-second-order kinetic model, suggesting that U(VI) adsorption is primarily attributed to chemisorption with porous HAP. Intraparticle diffusion analysis showed that the intraparticle diffusion is the rate-limiting step for U(VI) adsorption by porous HAP. After removal by porous HAP, the adsorbed U(VI) ions were incorporated into tetragonal autunite, which has a low solubility (log Ksp: −48.36). Our findings demonstrate that the porous HAP can effectively remediate uranium contamination and holds great promise for environmental applications.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119318172-fx1.jpg" width="468" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jie-Qi Jin, Yue Du, Li-Jun Xu, Zhao-Yue Chen, Jin-Jian Chen, Ying Wu, Chun-Quan Ou〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Objective〈/h6〉 〈p〉Ambient particulate pollution, especially PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉, has adverse impacts on health and welfare. To manage and control PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 pollution, it is of great importance to determine the factors that affect PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 levels. Previous studies commonly focused on a single or several cities. This study aims to analyze the impacts of meteorological and socio-economic factors on daily concentrations of PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 in 109 Chinese cities from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉To evaluate potential risk factors associated with the spatial and temporal variations in PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 levels, we developed a Bayesian spatio-temporal model in which the potential temporal autocorrelation and spatial autocorrelation of PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 levels were taken into account to ensure the independence of the error term of the model and hence the robustness of the estimated parameters.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉Daily concentrations of PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 peaked in winter and troughed in summer. The annual average concentration reached its highest value (79 μg/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉) in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area. The city-level PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 was positively associated with the proportion of the secondary industry, the total consumption of liquefied petroleum gas and the total emissions of industrial sulfur dioxide (SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉), but negatively associated with the proportion of the primary industry. A reverse U-shaped relationship between population density and PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 was found. The city-level and daily-level of weather conditions within a city were both associated with PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusion〈/h6〉 〈p〉PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 levels had significant spatio-temporal variations which were associated with socioeconomic and meteorological factors. Particularly, economic structure was a determinant factor of PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 pollution rather than per capita GDP. This finding will be helpful for the intervention planning of particulate pollution control when considering the environmental and social-economic factors as part of the strategies.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The annual average PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 and the proportion of days attaining the WHO guideline for 24-h PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 in 109 cities in 2015.〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119322298-fx1.jpg" width="273" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Vanessa Koehle-Divo, Bénédicte Sohm, Laure Giamberini, Danièle Pauly, Justine Flayac, Simon Devin, Mélanie Auffan, Catherine Mouneyrac, Sandrine Pain-Devin〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Because they are widely used, copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) are likely to enter the aquatic environment and then reach the sediment. We have examined the effect of CuO NPs in the freshwater endobenthic bivalve 〈em〉Corbicula fluminea〈/em〉. Some previous studies have investigated effects at biochemical and physiological levels, but molecular endpoints are still poorly studied despite they are sensitive in early detection of NPs effect. In the present study, we have investigated short-term effects (96 h) of CuO NP (12, 30 nm; 0, 20 and 100 μg/L) using molecular endpoints as well as more conventional biochemical and physiological markers. The expression of antioxidant (CuZnSOD, MnSOD, Cat, Se-GPx, Trxr) and antitoxic (GST-Pi, HSP70, MT, Pgp, MRP1) related genes was measured at the mRNA level while antioxidant (SOD, TAC) and antitoxic (GST, ACP) defenses, energetic reserves and metabolism (ETS, Tri, LDH), and cellular damages (LPO) were assessed using a biochemical approach. The filtration rate measured at 96 h provided information at the physiological scale. Gene expression and filtration rate were responsive to CuO NPs but the effects differed according to the NP size. The results suggest that defense mechanisms may have been set up following 30 nm-NP exposure. The response to 12 nm-NP was lower but still showed that exposure to 12 nm-NP led to activation of cellular elimination mechanisms. The lowering of the filtration rate may have protected the organisms from the contamination. However, this raised the question of further repercussions on organism biology. Together, the results (i) indicate that CuO NP may exert effects at different levels even after a short-term exposure and (ii) point out the precocity of molecular response.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119324066-fx1.jpg" width="414" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Youming Dong, Minling Gao, Zhengguo Song, Weiwen Qiu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Microplastics exhibit active environmental behavior and unique surface characteristics, and act as carriers for the migration of trivalent arsenic (As(III)) in the environment. Herein, the mechanism by which polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) microplastic particles adsorb As(III) is systematically determined. The larger the size of PTFE particles, the smaller the specific surface area, the higher the point of zero charge (PZC), and the more unfavorable adsorption of As(III); the highest adsorption amount can reach 1.05 mg g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. The adsorption process can be divided into three stages by the intraparticle diffusion model: external mass transfer, intraparticle diffusion, and dynamic equilibrium, of which the external mass transfer stage is the adsorption rate-limiting stage. The Langmuir isotherm model better represented the equilibrium adsorption results. The adsorption of As(III) by PTFE was an exothermic process, and because the increase in temperature broke the hydrogen bond, the amount of adsorption was decreased, which was not conducive to spontaneous adsorption. In the pH range of 3–7, as the pH value increased, the amount of As(III) adsorbed by PTFE gradually decreased, which may be related to the change in PZC for PTFE and the protonation of As(III). The H on the surface hydroxyl group of the PTFE exhibited a very large positive potential (+82.37 kcal mol〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉). Thus, it can attract the arsenic oxyanion, and As(III) was subsequently adsorbed on the surface of the PTFE through the hydrogen bond on the hydroxyl group. Electrostatic force and non-covalent interaction were the key mechanisms affecting the PTFE adsorption.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119322870-fx1.jpg" width="377" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Min Zheng, Jianguo Lu, Genmei Lin, Hualong Su, Jingyu Sun, Tiangang Luan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The increasing application and subsequent mass production of graphene-family materials (GFMs) will lead to greater possibilities for their release into the environment. Although GFMs exhibit toxicity toward various aquatic organisms, little information is available on their influence on gut microbiota of aquatic organism. In this study, zebrafish were fed diets containing three GFMs, namely, monolayer graphene powder (GR), graphene oxide nanosheet (GO) and reduced graphene oxide powder (rGO), or appropriate control for 21 days. The gut bacterial communities were then characterized for comparison of the exposure effects of each GFM. Alterations of the intestinal morphology and oxidative stress indicators were also examined. The results showed GFMs led to different inflammatory responses and significantly altered the relative composition of the gut bacterial species by increasing the relative abundance of 〈em〉Fusobacteria〈/em〉 and the genus 〈em〉Cetobacterium〈/em〉 and 〈em〉Lactobacillus〈/em〉 and decreasing the abundance of 〈em〉Firmicutes〈/em〉 and the genus 〈em〉Pseudomonas〈/em〉; GR caused marked shifts in the diversity of the gut microbiota. The GFMs also altered the intestinal morphology and antioxidant enzyme activities by inducing more vacuolation and generating more goblet cells. Our findings demonstrate that GFM exposure poses potential health risks to aquatic organisms through alteration of the gut microbiota.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119310759-fx1.jpg" width="330" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yehia Sayed Eltemsah, Thomas Bøhn〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉We investigate the distribution and effects of polystyrene microplastic (MP) particles in exposure experiments with the ecotoxicology model organism 〈em〉Daphnia magna〈/em〉. The aim was to investigate the short and long-term toxicity of MP at different concentrations. To achieve this goal, the effects of 6 μm commercially available polystyrene beads on two different life-stages of 〈em〉D. magna〈/em〉: 〈 24 h old juveniles and 9 days old adults was assessed. The following end points in test animals were measured: (1) survival, (2) growth, (3) individual and population fecundity, (4) age at maturation and (5) body size of newborn offspring. These response variables were followed in two acute and two chronic experiments. The acute experiments showed that MP is not acutely toxic to 〈em〉D. magna〈/em〉 within 48 h, but cause added mortality within 120 h. The juveniles were about 50% more sensitive than the adults tested. In life-cycle experiments testing chronic exposure to MP, again, animals exposed as juveniles at relatively high concentrations, i.e. 〉 30 μg ml〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 showed higher sensitivity. We observed slightly increased mortality, reduced growth and stimulation of early reproduction at the cost of later reproduction. Animals exposed after reaching adulthood did not show increased mortality and showed a stimulation response with higher reproductive rates than the control group. However, both the growth rate of mother animals and the body size of newborn declined with increasing dose of MP. We conclude that these effects indicate a role of MP in mechanical interaction/interference with the animal on the level of feeding (clogging filtering functions), digestion (gut filled with plastic particles), and/or other animal behavior. The study also illustrates how MP with slow break-down rates may accumulate in the environment and enter the food-chain as obstructing non-food particles in filter-feeding organisms.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mostafa Hadei, Abbas Shahsavani, Philip K. Hopke, Majid Kermani, Maryam Yarahmadi, Babak Mahmoudi〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study aimed to assess the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of in-vehicle exposure in Tehran, Iran to formaldehyde and acetaldehyde for different models of taxis, and to explore the effects of city zone, taxi vehicle type, the taxi's age (〈1, 1–5, 5–10), fuel type (gasoline, CNG, and LPG), and refueling activities on the estimated health risks based on previously measured concentrations. The overall and age-specific carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of these compounds for taxi drivers and passengers were estimated separately using Monte Carlo simulations. Three scenarios of exposure frequency were defined for taxis commuting in different zones of city: Restricted Traffic Zone (RTZ) and Odd-Even Zone (OEZ) as two plans to reduce air pollution, and no-restriction zone (NRZ). The carcinogenic risks for drivers and passengers, the average risks of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde for most cases were above the 1 × 10〈sup〉−4〈/sup〉. The health risks were greater in Restricted Traffic Zone (RTZ) and Odd-Even Zone (OEZ) in comparison to no-restriction zone (NRZ). The carcinogenic risk from formaldehyde exposures were higher than those for acetaldehyde in all cases. Taxis fueled with LPG showed lower cancer risks for both acetaldehyde and formaldehyde. Refueling increased the carcinogenic risk from both compounds. For non-carcinogenic risks from acetaldehyde, the average hazard ratios for both drivers and passengers were 〉1, indicating a non-negligible risk. Cancer and non-cancer risks for the taxi drivers were greater than the passengers given the higher time of occupancy. The present study showed that transportation in taxis can impose significant long-term health risks to both passengers and drivers. Development and investment in cleaner choices for public transportations are required.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119317658-fx1.jpg" width="497" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Siyu Ma, Cheng Xu, Ji Ma, Zhiqi Wang, Yuxi Zhang, Yaqin Shu, Xuming Mo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The effects of exposure to some environmental chemicals on blood pressure have been determined, but the association between non-occupational exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and blood pressure in adolescents remains unknown. The association between blood pressure and PFAS concentrations was studied by analysing data from 2251 participants filtered from the population enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2003 to 2012. After adjusting for age, sex, race, BMI, cotinine level, dietary intake of calcium, caloric intake, sodium consumption, potassium consumption and sampling year, we estimated the coefficients (betas) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the relationship between PFAS concentrations and blood pressure with multiple linear regression models. Potential non-linear relationships were assessed with restricted cubic spline models. Blood levels of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) had a strong positive association with diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in adolescents in the linear model, while the result was not significant in the non-linear model. No significant association was observed between the concentration of any other PFASs and blood pressure. According to the fully adjusted linear regression model (P = 0.041), the mean DBP values in boys in the higher PFOS quintile were 2.70% greater than the mean DBP values of boys in the lowest PFOS quintile. Furthermore, serum PFOS concentrations predominantly affected blood pressure in male adolescents compared with female adolescents. These results provide epidemiological evidence of PFOS-related increases in DBP. Further research is needed to address related issues.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119329604-fx1.jpg" width="296" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Perrine J. Martin, Amélie Héliot, Gauthier Trémolet, Yann Landkocz, Dorothée Dewaele, Fabrice Cazier, Frédéric Ledoux, Dominique Courcot〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Exposure to fine atmospheric Particulate Matter (PM) is one of the major environmental causes involved in the development of inflammatory lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma. When PM is penetrating in the pulmonary system, alveolar macrophages represent the first line of defense, in particular by triggering a pro-inflammatory response, and also by their ability to recruit infiltrating macrophages from the bone marrow. The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the gene expression and cytokine production involved in the toxicological and inflammatory responses of infiltrating macrophages, as well as the Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) production, after their exposure to PM. The ability of these EVs to convey information related to PM exposure from exposed macrophages to pulmonary epithelial cells was also evaluated.〈/p〉 〈p〉Infiltrating macrophages respond to fine particles exposure in a conventional manner, as their exposure to PM induced the expression of Xenobiotic Metabolizing Enzymes (XMEs) such as CYP1A1 and CYP1B1, the enzymes involved in oxidative stress SOD2, NQO1 and HMOX as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines in a dose-dependent manner. Exposure to PM also induced a greater release of EVs in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the produced EVs were able to induce a pro-inflammatory phenotype on pulmonary epithelial cells, with the induction of the release of IL6 and TNFα proinflammatory cytokines. These results suggest that infiltrating macrophages participate in the pro-inflammatory response induced by PM exposure and that EVs could be involved in this mechanism.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119309637-fx1.jpg" width="296" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 253〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Chiara Maria Motta, Palma Simoniello, Carmen Arena, Teresa Capriello, Raffaele Panzuto, Ermenegilda Vitale, Claudio Agnisola, Monica Tizzano, Bice Avallone, Ida Ferrandino〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Food dyes, or color additives, are chemicals added to industrial food products and in domestic cooking to improve the perceived flavor and attractiveness. Of natural and synthetic origin, their safety has been long discussed, and concern for human safety is now clearly manifested by warnings added on products labels. Limited attention, however, has been dedicated to the effects of these compounds on aquatic flora and fauna. For this reason, the toxicity of four different commercially available food dyes (cochineal red E120, Ponceau red E124, tartrazine yellow E102 and blue Patent E131) was assessed on three different model organisms, namely 〈em〉Cucumis sativus〈/em〉, 〈em〉Artemia salina〈/em〉 and 〈em〉Danio rerio〈/em〉 that occupy diverse positions in the trophic pyramid. The evidence collected indicates that food dyes may target several organs and functions, depending on the species. 〈em〉C. sativus〈/em〉 rate of germination was increased by E102, while root/shoot ratio was ∼20% reduced by E102, E120 and E124, seed total chlorophylls and carotenoids were 15–20% increased by E120 and 131, and total antioxidant activity was ∼25% reduced by all dyes. Mortality and low mobility of 〈em〉A. salina〈/em〉 nauplii were increased by up to 50% in presence of E124, E102 and E131, while the nauplii phototactic response was significantly altered by E102, E120 and E124. Two to four-fold increases in the hatching percentages at 48 h were induced by E124, E102 and E131 on 〈em〉D. rerio〈/em〉, associated with the occurrence of 20% of embryos showing developmental defects. These results demonstrated that the food dyes examined are far from being safe for the aquatic organisms as well as land organisms exposed during watering with contaminated water. The overall information obtained gives a realistic snapshot of the potential pollution risk exerted by food dyes and of the different organism' ability to overcome the stress induced by contamination.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119305111-fx1.jpg" width="374" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Łukasz Grewling, Paweł Bogawski, Maciej Kryza, Donat Magyar, Branko Šikoparija, Carsten Ambelas Skjøth, Orsolya Udvardy, Małgorzata Werner, Matt Smith〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Large-scale synoptic conditions are able to transport considerable amounts of airborne particles over entire continents by creating substantial air mass movement. This phenomenon is observed in Europe in relation to highly allergenic ragweed (〈em〉Ambrosia〈/em〉 L.) pollen grains that are transported from populations in Central Europe (mainly the Pannonian Plain and Balkans) to the North. The path taken by atmospheric ragweed pollen often passes through the highly industrialised mining region of Silesia in Southern Poland, considered to be one of the most polluted areas in the EU. It is hypothesized that chemical air pollutants released over Silesia could become mixed with biological material and be transported to less polluted regions further North. We analysed levels of air pollution during episodes of long-distance transport (LDT) of ragweed pollen to Poland. Results show that, concomitantly with pollen, the concentration of air pollutants with potential health-risk, i.e. SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, and PM〈sub〉10〈/sub〉, have also significantly increased (by 104% and 37%, respectively) in the receptor area (Western Poland). Chemical transport modelling (EMEP) and air mass back-trajectory analysis (HYSPLIT) showed that potential sources of PM〈sub〉10〈/sub〉 include Silesia, as well as mineral dust from the Ukrainian steppe and the Sahara Desert. In addition, atmospheric concentrations of other allergenic biological particles, i.e. 〈em〉Alternaria〈/em〉 Nees ex Fr. spores, also increased markedly (by 115%) during LDT episodes. We suggest that the LDT episodes of ragweed pollen over Europe are not a “one-component” phenomenon, but are often related to elevated levels of chemical air pollutants and other biotic and abiotic components (fungal spores and desert dust).〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119321360-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Dong Ren, Zhaogang Ren, Fang Chen, Bin Wang, Bin Huang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Humic acids (HAs) have been shown to dominate the photodegradation of steroid estrogens in natural waters. Nevertheless, how the photosensitizing ability of HAs relates to their structural and optical characteristics remains largely unknown. In this study, 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) was selected as a model compound to study to what extent easily-measurable characteristics of HAs might be used to predict their photosensitization potency. HAs were extracted from sediments of two different sources, and then subjected to structural and optical properties characterization using elemental analyzer, UV–vis spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy. Photochemical experiments show that the HAs from the two sources can effectively meditate EE2 photodegradation. Although with drastically different structural and optical properties, the photosensitizing ability of these HAs towards EE2 can be well described by simple linear regressions using a spectroscopic index, the spectral slope ratio (〈em〉S〈/em〉〈sub〉R〈/sub〉). This optical indicator is correlated with various physicochemical properties of HAs, including the molecular weight, lignin content, charge-transfer interaction potential, photobleaching extent and sources. No universal prediction model could be established for predicting EE2 photodegradation kinetics on the basis of 〈em〉S〈/em〉〈sub〉R〈/sub〉, but in specific waters 〈em〉S〈/em〉〈sub〉R〈/sub〉 could be a powerful indictor for predicting the EE2 photodegradation sensitized by HAs.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119318573-fx1.jpg" width="371" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yunlong Zhao, Baoyong Cao, Zhang Lin, Xintai Su〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉/C nano-sheets (NSs) have been synthesized by a facile molten salt method using cheap potassium fulvate as carbon source and sodium chloride as template. The morphology, crystallinity and composition of the materials were analyzed by TEM, XRD and XPS. The study on the catalytic performance of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) shows that CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉/C-600 nano-catalyst has the highest catalytic activity and the corresponding apparent constant is 1.91 min〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, this result is higher than that reported in most literatures. Catalytic kinetics of 4-NP reduction was studied in this article, and activation energy (〈em〉E〈/em〉〈sub〉a〈/sub〉) was calculated to be 14.31 kJ mol〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. The catalyst also shows good cycle performance and stability. This convenient method provides a reference for the synthesis of MFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉/C and other nano-metal oxides/C nanocomposite catalysts.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉/C nano-sheets (NSs) have been successfully synthesized by a facile molten salt method using an inexpensive carbon source of potassium fulvate and sodium chloride as template. The CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉/C nano-catalysis with sheet structure exhibits high catalytic activity for reduction of 4-NP to 4-AP, especially, the CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉/C-600 nano-catalysts exhibit the highest 4-NP reduction catalytic activity and the corresponding apparent constant is 1.91 min〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. A facile method was provided for fabrication of MFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉/C composite, the material will be applied in other fields.〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119316537-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Gongning Chen, Kinjal J. Shah, Lin Shi, Pen-Chi Chiang, Zhaoyang You〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This field study aims to identify the performance and mechanisms of red soil amelioration and heavy metal immobilization by a multi-element mineral amendment (MMA) mainly containing a mixture of zeolites (laumontite and gismondine), montmorillonite, gehlenite, grossular and calcium silicate powder. The results indicated that the acidity of red soil was neutralized, and the soil EC, CEC, and content of montmorillonite and illite were increased after application of MMA, improving the soil fertility as well as the ability of heavy metals immobilization. The high amounts and reactivity of dissolved and colloidal Fe provided by the ferralsol (red soil) combined with the abundant available Si, Ca, Mg, Na and K supplied by MMA, readily destabilizes kaolinite and facilitates the formation of 2:1 type clay minerals. Meanwhile, the application of MMA was effective in reducing the bioavailability of soil heavy metals due to the activated mineralogical compositions of MMA as well as the increase of pH and 2:1 type clay minerals in the soil, which significantly decreased the up-taking and accumulation of Cd, Pb, Cr and Hg in lettuce tissues (p 〈 0.05). Compared with the untreated soil, the plant height, the total yield and content of vitamin C in the edible parts of lettuce in MMA-treated soil was increased by 7.6%, 23.6%, and 12.8%, respectively. These results showed that MMA could be a promising amendment for red soil amelioration and heavy metal immobilization.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119301460-fx1.jpg" width="244" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xun Wang, Wei Yuan, Xinbin Feng, Dingyong Wang, Ji Luo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Moss is usually as an initial colonizer in alpine glacier retreated regions. We hypothesized that moss can significantly facilitate the toxic metals accumulation in alpine ecosystems based on its strong ability of absorption and the role in soil development. Hence, we investigated the trace element pool sizes and enrichment factors, especially for mercury (Hg) by using the Hg isotopic compositions to determine the source contributions in a moss-dominated ecosystem over glacial erratic in Eastern Tibetan Plateau. Results show that Hg, lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) are highly enriched in organic soils. Specifically, Cd concentration is 5–20 times higher than the safety limit of the acid soil (pH ≤ 5.5) in China. Atmospheric depositions dominantly contribute to the Pb and Cd sources in organic soils, and followed by the moraine particles influences. The lowering pH in organic soils increasing with glacial retreated time results in the desorption of Cd in organic soils. Atmospheric Hg〈sup〉0〈/sup〉 uptake by moss predominantly contributes to the Hg sources in organic soils. The average Pb accumulation rate over last 125-year is about 5.6 ± 1.0 mg m〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 yr〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, and for Cd is 0.4 ± 0.1 mg m〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 yr〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, and for Hg〈sup〉0〈/sup〉 is 27.6 ± 3.2 μg m〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 yr〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. These elevated accumulation rates are caused by the high moss biomass and elevated atmospheric Hg, Pb and Cd pollution levels in China and neighbouring regions. Our study indicates that the moss not only as the bioindicator, but also plays an important role in the hazardous metal biogeochemical cycling in alpine regions.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119333020-fx1.jpg" width="352" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xuheng Li, Feng Liu, Weifang Zhang, Hongbo Lu, Jing Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Preoxidation of As(III) to As(V) is required for the efficient removal of total arsenic in the treatment of wastewater. In this work, the electro-Fenton oxidation of As(III) with a high efficiency was successfully achieved by using the system of the stainless steel net (SSN) coating with reduced graphene oxide (RGO@SSN) as the cathode and stainless steel net (SSN) as the sacrificial anode. The RGO@SSN was synthesized by electrophoretic deposition-annealing method. The carbon disorder and defects of RGO resulted from the remained oxygen-containing functional groups facilitated the electrocatalytically active sites for two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). A high concentration (up to 1000 μmol/L) of H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 was in-situ produced through two-electron oxygen reduction reaction of electro-catalysis, and then served as the electro-Fenton reagent for the oxidation of As(III). HO〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/rad"〉 generated by H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 participating the electro-Fenton reaction or decomposed at the surface of RGO@SSN cathode at acid condition endowed the strong oxidizing ability for As(III). The electro-Fenton equipped with RGO@SSN cathode has a promising application in the oxidation and removal of organic or inorganic pollutants in wastewater.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119311285-fx1.jpg" width="306" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sun-Hwa Nam, Jieun Lee, Youn-Joo An〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In the present study, we evaluate our previously developed non-destructive soil algal toxicity method using species from a different class of algae; Class Trebouxiophyceae (〈em〉Chlorella vulgaris〈/em〉 and 〈em〉Chlorella sorokiniana〈/em〉), and directly measure the photosynthetic activity of these species adsorbed onto the soil as a new toxicity endpoint. This study shows that non-destructive soil algal toxicity method is applicable to non-specific test species, including those of Class Trebouxiophyceae as well as Class Chlorophyceae (〈em〉Chlorococcum infusionum〈/em〉 and 〈em〉Chlamydomonas reinhardtii〈/em〉). Furthermore, by performing photosynthesis image analysis, we verify that it is possible to measure the photosynthetic activity of soil algae 〈em〉Chlorella vulgaris〈/em〉 adsorbed onto soils without the need to extract algal cells from the soil. We propose that the non-destructive soil algal toxicity method represents a novel technique for 1) evaluating pollutants in soil using non-specific algae and 2) conveniently and rapidly assessing the photosynthetic activity of soil algae 〈em〉Chlorella vulgaris〈/em〉 adsorbed onto soil as a new toxicity endpoint.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119315416-fx1.jpg" width="335" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Johanna Aurell, Amara L. Holder, Brian K. Gullett, Kevin McNesby, Jason P. Weinstein〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Muzzle emissions from firing an M4 carbine rifle in a semi-enclosed chamber were characterized for an array of compounds to provide quantitative data for future studies on potential inhalation exposure and rangeland contamination. Air emissions were characterized for particulate matter (PM) size distribution, composition, and morphology; carbon monoxide (CO); carbon dioxide (CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉); energetics; metals; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; and methane. Three types of ammunition were used: a “Legacy” (Vietnam-era) round, the common M855 round (no longer fielded), and its variant, an M855 round with added potassium (K)-based salts to reduce muzzle flash. Average CO concentrations up to 1500 ppm significantly exceeded CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 concentrations. Emitted particles were in the respirable size range with mass median diameters between 0.33 and 0.58 μm. PM emissions were highest from the M855 salt-added ammunition, likely due to incomplete secondary combustion in the muzzle blast caused by scavenging of combustion radicals by the K salt. Copper (Cu) had the highest emitted metal concentration for all three round formulations, likely originating from the Cu jacket on the bullet. Based on a mass balance analysis of each round's formulation, lead (Pb) was completely emitted for all three round types. This work demonstrated methods for characterizing emissions from gun firing which can distinguish between round-specific effects and can be used to initiate studies of inhalation risk and environmental deposition.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119315647-fx1.jpg" width="250" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Heejoo Jo, Sandrah P. Eckel, Xinhui Wang, Jiu-Chiuan Chen, Myles Cockburn, Mayra P. Martinez, Ting Chow, Noa Molshatzki, Frederick W. Lurmann, William E. Funk, Anny H. Xiang, Rob McConnell〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects more boys than girls. Recent animal studies found that early life exposure to ambient particles caused autism-like behaviors only in males. However, there has been little study of sex-specificity of effects on ASD in humans. We evaluated ASD risk associated with prenatal and first year of life exposures to particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉) by child sex. This retrospective cohort study included 246,420 singleton children born in Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) hospitals between 1999 and 2009. The cohort was followed from birth through age five to identify 2471 ASD cases from the electronic medical record. Ambient PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 and other regional air pollution measurements (PM less than 10 μm, ozone, nitrogen dioxide) from regulatory air monitoring stations were interpolated to estimate exposure during each trimester and first year of life at each geocoded birth address. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using Cox regression models to adjust for birth year, KPSC medical center service areas, and relevant maternal and child characteristics. Adjusted HRs per 6.5 μg/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 were elevated during entire pregnancy [1.17 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04–1.33)]; first trimester [1.10 (95% CI, 1.02–1.19)]; third trimester [1.08 (1.00–1.18)]; and first year of life [1.21 (95% CI, 1.05–1.40)]. Only the first trimester association remained robust to adjustment for other exposure windows, and was specific to boys only (HR = 1.18; 95% CI, 1.08–1.27); there was no association in girls (HR = 0.90; 95% CI, 0.76–1.07; interaction p-value 0.03). There were no statistically significant associations with other pollutants. PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉-associated ASD risk was stronger in boys, consistent with findings from recent animal studies. Further studies are needed to better understand these sexually dimorphic neurodevelopmental associations.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118357051-fx1.jpg" width="406" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhongchuang Liu, Bangjun Lu, Hongyan Xiao, Dongsheng Liu, Xiang Li, Li-ao Wang, Oksana Urbanovich, Liubov Nagorskaya〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study analyzed the effect of heavy metal eluents (0.3 mol/L C〈sub〉6〈/sub〉H〈sub〉8〈/sub〉O〈sub〉7〈/sub〉, 5 × 10〈sup〉−4〈/sup〉 mol/L EDTA, and 0.01 mol/L Na〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉) on the content of organic matter, hydrolytic nitrogen, available phosphorus and potassium, and species composition of bacteria and fungi in vegetable soils. The obtained results documented that the treatment of the soil, consisting of shaking the sample with a mixture of eluents, significantly increased the content of organic matter, hydrolytic nitrogen, and available phosphorus and potassium. The mixed solutions of eluents increase the maximum available P in the soil by 279.3%, and hydrolytic N by 30.7%. The eluents affected, to a certain extent, the dominant species of microorganisms in the soil, but did not increase species richness and evenness in all soil samples.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S026974911932994X-fx1.jpg" width="346" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Peng Lu, Yongming Zhang, Guoxin Xia, Wenyi Zhang, Shanshan Li, Yuming Guo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Background〈/h6〉 〈p〉Conjunctivitis has hazardous effects on patients’ quality of life through influencing school performance, work productivity, and daily activities such as driving. However, limited evidence is available on the contributory role of air pollution on conjunctivitis, particularly in China.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉We obtained data of 81,351 conjunctivitis outpatients from the largest comprehensive hospitals of four cities, China, between Jan 1, 2013 and Dec 31, 2014. Data on air pollutants, including particulate matter ≤2.5 μm in diameter (PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉), particulate matter ≤10 μm in diameter (PM〈sub〉10〈/sub〉), nitrogen dioxide (NO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉), ozone (O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉) and sulphur dioxide (SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉) were collected from China National Environmental Monitoring Centre. Conjunctivitis outpatient visits were linked with air pollution concentrations by the visiting dates. A time-stratified case-crossover design with conditional logistic regression model was used to examine the effect of short-term exposure to air pollution on conjunctivitis outpatient visits.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉We found that the associations between air pollutants (per 10 μg/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 increase) and hospital outpatient visits for asthma were [odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals]: 1.004(1.002–1.007) for PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉, 1.004 (1.002–1.005) for PM〈sub〉10〈/sub〉, 1.012(1.005–1.020) for NO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, 1.006 (1.001–1.011) for SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, and 1.007 (1.003–1.010) for O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉, respectively at lag0 day. Outpatients aged 35–64 years showed significant associations with exposure to PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 (1.005, 1.001–1.010), PM〈sub〉10〈/sub〉 (1.005, 1.002–1.008), NO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 (1.014, 1.003–1.026), and O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 (1.005, 1.000–1.011), while those aged 15–34 years showed significant associations with exposure to O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 (1.010, 1.004–1.017).〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusions〈/h6〉 〈p〉Short-term exposure to air pollution has impacts on outpatient visits for conjunctivitis in China. This study suggests that improving air quality could protect eye health.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119330611-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Shaoyou Lu, Lu Ren, Yanlin Liu, Huimin Ma, Shan Liu, Zhou Zhu, Zhi Tang, Li Kang, Shicheng Liao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Parabens are extensively applied in cosmetics, drugs or food as preservatives and have become common pollutants in environmental media. However, data on human exposure to these chemicals is still limited, especially for children. This study aimed to investigate parabens in urine samples of children and to evaluate the cumulative risk of paraben exposure. Five short-chain parabens were measured in 255 urine samples collected from children in a kindergarten and elementary schools from South China. Methyl paraben (MeP), ethyl paraben (EtP) and n-propyl paraben (PrP) were widely detected in urine samples (detection rates 〉 94.9%), indicating their widespread exposure. The urinary median concentrations of MeP, EtP and PrP were 2.25, 0.33 and 0.50 μg/L, respectively. Significantly positive correlations (〈em〉p〈/em〉 〈 0.01) were observed between MeP and PrP in urine, suggesting similar sources and/or metabolic pathways of these two chemicals. The median estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of parabens were determined to be 18.1 and 9.79 μg/kg-bw/day for kindergarten children and elementary school students, respectively. Estimation of human intake and exposure risks indicated potential risks of PrP exposure for elementary school students. This is the first study addressing paraben exposure in South China children.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119326946-fx1.jpg" width="368" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Gregory L. Watson, Donatello Telesca, Colleen E. Reid, Gabriele G. Pfister, Michael Jerrett〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Epidemiologists use prediction models to downscale (i.e., interpolate) air pollution exposure where monitoring data is insufficient. This study compares machine learning prediction models for ground-level ozone during wildfires, evaluating the predictive accuracy of ten algorithms on the daily 8-hour maximum average ozone during a 2008 wildfire event in northern California. Models were evaluated using a leave-one-location-out cross-validation (LOLO CV) procedure to account for the spatial and temporal dependence of the data and produce more realistic estimates of prediction error. LOLO CV avoids both the well-known overly optimistic bias of 〈em〉k〈/em〉-fold cross-validation on dependent data and the conservative bias of evaluating prediction error over a coarser spatial resolution via leave-〈em〉k〈/em〉-locations-out CV. Gradient boosting was the most accurate of the ten machine learning algorithms with the lowest LOLO CV estimated root mean square error (0.228) and the highest LOLO CV 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si1.svg"〉〈mrow〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mover accent="true"〉〈mi〉R〈/mi〉〈mo〉ˆ〈/mo〉〈/mover〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉2〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉 (0.677). Random forest was the second best performing algorithm with an LOLO CV 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si1.svg"〉〈mrow〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mover accent="true"〉〈mi〉R〈/mi〉〈mo〉ˆ〈/mo〉〈/mover〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉2〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉 of 0.661. The LOLO CV estimates of predictive accuracy were less optimistic than 10-fold CV estimates for all ten models. The difference in estimated accuracy between the 10-fold CV and LOLO CV was greater for more flexible models like gradient boosting and random forest. The order of estimated model accuracy depended on the choice of evaluation metric, indicating that 10-fold CV and LOLO CV may select different models or sets of covariates as optimal, which calls into question the reliability of 10-fold CV for model (or variable) selection. These prediction models are designed for interpolating ozone exposure, and are not suited to inferring the effect of wildfires on ozone or extrapolating to predict ozone in other spatial or temporal domains. This is demonstrated by the inability of the best performing models to accurately predict ozone during 2007 southern California wildfires.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119301733-fx1.jpg" width="471" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yuan-Chang Su, Wei-Hao Chen, Chen-Lun Fan, Yu-Huei Tong, Tzu-Hsiang Weng, Sheng-Po Chen, Cheng-Pin Kuo, Jia-Lin Wang, Julius S. Chang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study demonstrates the use of positive matrix factorization (PMF) in a region with a major Petrochemical Complex, a prominent source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as a showcase of PMF applications. The PMF analysis fully exploited the quality and quantity of the observation data, sufficed by a cluster of 9 monitoring sites within a 20 km radius of the petro-complex. Each site provided continuous data of 54 speciated VOCs and meteorological variables. Wind characteristics were highly seasonal and played a decisive role in the source-receptor relationship, hence the dataset was divided into three sub-sets in accordance with the prevailing wind flows. A full year of real-time data were analyzed by PMF to resolve into various distinct source types including petrochemical, urban, evaporative, long-range air parcels, etc., with some sites receiving more petro-influence than others. To minimize subjectivity in the assignment of the PMF source factors, as commonly seen in some PMF works, this study attempted to solidify PMF results by supporting with two tools of spatially/temporally resolved air-quality model simulations and observation data. By exploiting the two supporting tools, the dynamic process of individual sources to a receptor were rationalized. Percent contributions from these sources to the receptor sites were calculated by summing over the occurrence of different source types. Interestingly, although the Petro-complex is the single largest local VOC source in the 20 km radius study domain, all monitoring sites in the region received far less influence from the Petro-complex than from other emission types within or outside the region, which together add up to more than 70% of the total VOC abundance.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119316069-fx1.jpg" width="443" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Benben Du, Guangfu Liu, Mingjing Ke, Zhenyan Zhang, Meng Zheng, Tao Lu, Liwei Sun, Haifeng Qian〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈em〉Microcystis aeruginosa〈/em〉 is one of the main species of cyanobacteria that causes water blooms. 〈em〉M. aeruginosa〈/em〉 can release into the water several types of microcystins (MCs), which are harmful to aquatic organisms and even humans. However, few studies have investigated the hepatotoxicity of 〈em〉M. aeruginosa〈/em〉 itself in zebrafish in environments that simulate natural aquatic systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hepatotoxicity of 〈em〉M. aeruginosa〈/em〉 in adult zebrafish (〈em〉Danio rerio〈/em〉) after short-term (96 h) exposure and to elucidate the potential underlying mechanisms. Distinct histological changes in the liver, such as enlargement of the peripheral nuclei and sinusoids and the appearance of fibroblasts, were observed in zebrafish grown in 〈em〉M. aeruginosa〈/em〉 culture. In addition, antioxidant enzyme activity was activated and protein phosphatase (PP) activity was significantly decreased with increasing microalgal density. A proteomic analysis revealed alterations in a number of protein pathways, including ribosome translation, immune response, energy metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation pathways. Western blot and real-time PCR analyses confirmed the results of the proteomic analysis. All results indicated that 〈em〉M. aeruginosa〈/em〉 could disrupt hepatic functions in adult zebrafish, thus highlighting the necessity of ecotoxicity assessments for 〈em〉M. aeruginosa〈/em〉 at environmentally relevant densities.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119306694-fx1.jpg" width="407" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hua-Long Zhu, Xiao-Feng Xu, Xue-Ting Shi, Yu-Jie Feng, Yong-Wei Xiong, Yuan Nan, Cheng Zhang, Lan Gao, Yuan-Hua Chen, De-Xiang Xu, Hua Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Cadmium (Cd), a ubiquitous environmental pollutant, is known to impair placental development. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The present study used in vivo and in vitro models to investigate the effects of Cd on apoptosis and autophagy in placental trophoblasts and its mechanism. Pregnant mice were exposed to CdCl〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 (4.5 mg/kg) on gestational day (GD) 9. Human JEG-3 cells were exposed to CdCl〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 (0–40 μM) for different time points. Gestational Cd exposure obviously lowered the weight and diameter of mouse placentas. Number of TUNEL-positive cells was markedly elevated in Cd-administered mouse placentas and JEG-3 cells. Correspondingly, Cd significantly up-regulated cleaved caspase-3 protein level, a key indicator of apoptosis, in murine placentas and JEG-3 cells. Simultaneously, Cd also triggered autophagy, as determined by an elevation of LC3B-II and p62 protein, and accumulation of LC3-positive puncta, in placental trophoblasts. Chloroquine an autophagy inhibitor, obviously aggravated Cd-induced apoptosis in JEG-3 cells. By contrast, rapamycin, a specific autophagy inducer, significantly alleviated Cd-triggered apoptosis in JEG-3 cells. Mechanistically, autophagy inhibited Cd-induced apoptosis mainly via degrading caspase-9. Co-localizations of p62, a classical autophagic receptor, and caspase-9 were observed in Cd-stimulated human JEG-3 cells. Moreover, p62 siRNAs pretreatment markedly blocked the degradation of caspase 9 proteins via Cd-activated autophagy in JEG-3 cells. Collectively, our data suggest that activation of autophagy inhibits Cd-induced apoptosis via p62-mediated caspase-9 degradation in placental trophoblasts. These findings provide a new mechanistic insight into Cd-induced impairments of placental and fetal development.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119313284-fx1.jpg" width="301" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xiaoye Zhang, Yiping Tian, Xiaofang Zhang, Mindong Bai, Zhitao Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) generated by ballast water treatment have become a concern worldwide because of their potential threat to the marine environment. Predicting the relative DBP concentrations after disinfection could enable better control of DBP formation. However, there is no appropriate method of evaluating DBP formation in a full-scale ballast water treatment system (BWTS). In this study, multiple regression models were developed for predicting the dibromochloromethane (DBCM) and bromoform (TBM) concentrations produced by an emergency BWTS using field experimental data from ballast water treatments conducted at Dalian Port, China. Six combinations of independent variables [including several water parameters and/or the total residual oxidant (TRO) concentration] were evaluated to construct mathematical prediction formulas based on a polynomial linear model and logarithmic regression model. Further, statistical analyses were performed to verify and determine the appropriate mathematical models for DBCM and TBM formation, which were ultimately validated using additional field experimental data. The polynomial linear model with four variables (temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, and TRO) and the logarithmic regression model with seven variables (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, chlorophyll, and TRO) exhibited good reproducibility and could be used to predict the DBCM and TBM concentrations, respectively. The validation results indicated that the developed models could accurately predict DBP concentrations, with no significant statistical difference from the measured values. The results of this work could provide a theoretical basis and data reference for ballast water treatment control in engineering applications of emergency BWTSs.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119326739-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Monika A. Roy, Karilyn E. Sant, Olivia L. Venezia, Alix B. Shipman, Stephen D. McCormick, Panithi Saktrakulkla, Keri C. Hornbuckle, Alicia R. Timme-Laragy〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉3,3′-dichlorobiphenyl (PCB-11) is an emerging PCB congener widely detected in environmental samples and human serum, but its toxicity potential is poorly understood. We assessed the effects of three concentrations of PCB-11 on embryotoxicity and Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr) pathway interactions in zebrafish embryos (〈em〉Danio rerio〈/em〉). Wildtype AB or transgenic 〈em〉Tg(gut:GFP)〈/em〉 strain zebrafish embryos were exposed to static concentrations of PCB-11 (0, 0.2, 2, or 20 μM) from 24 to 96 h post fertilization (hpf), and gross morphology, Cytochrome P4501a (Cyp1a) activity, and liver development were assessed via microscopy. Ahr interactions were probed via co-exposures with PCB-126 or beta-naphthoflavone (BNF). Embryos exposed to 20 μM PCB-11 were also collected for PCB-11 body burden, qRT-PCR, RNAseq, and histology. Zebrafish exposed to 20 μM PCB-11 absorbed 0.18% PCB-11 per embryo at 28 hpf and 0.61% by 96 hpf, and their media retained 1.36% PCB-11 at 28 hpf and 0.84% at 96 hpf. This concentration did not affect gross morphology, but altered the transcription of xenobiotic metabolism and liver development genes, impeded liver development, and increased hepatocyte vacuole formation. In co-exposures, 20 μM PCB-11 prevented deformities caused by PCB-126 but exacerbated deformities in co-exposures with BNF. This study suggests that PCB-11 can affect liver development, act as a partial agonist/antagonist of the Ahr pathway, and act as an antagonist of Cyp1a activity to modify the toxicity of compounds that interact with the Ahr pathway.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119321414-fx1.jpg" width="315" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Rehana Khan, Kanike Raghavendra Kumar, Tianliang Zhao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The present study utilizes 18 years of long-term (2001–2018) data collected from six active AERONET sites over the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and the North China Plain (NCP) areas in Southeast Asia. The annual mean (±SD) aerosol optical thickness at 440 nm (AOT〈sub〉440〈/sub〉) was found high at XiangHe (0.92 ± 0.69) and Taihu (0.90 ± 0.51) followed by Beijing (0.81 ± 0.69), Lahore (0.81 ± 0.43), and Kanpur (0.73 ± 0.35) and low at Karachi (0.52 ± 0.23). Seasonally, high AOT〈sub〉440〈/sub〉 with corresponding high Ångström exponent (ANG〈sub〉440-870〈/sub〉) noticed during JJA for all sites, except Kanpur, suggesting the dominance of fine-mode particles, generally associated with large anthropogenic emissions. Climatologically, an increasing (decreasing) trend was observed over IGP (NCP) sites, with the highest (lowest) percentage of departures in AOT〈sub〉440〈/sub〉 found over Beijing (Karachi). We further identified major aerosol types which showed the dominance of biomass burning, urban-industrial followed by the mixed type of aerosols. In addition, single scattering albedo (SSA), asymmetry parameter (ASP), volume size distribution (VSD), and complex aerosol refractive index (RI) showed significant temporal and spectral changes, illustrating the complexity of aerosol types. At last, the annual mean direct aerosol radiative forcing at the top, bottom, and within the atmosphere for all sites were found in the range from −17.36 ± 3.75 to −45.17 ± 4.87 W m〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉, -64.6 ± 4.86 to −93.7 ± 10.27 W m〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉, and 40.5 ± 6.43 to 68.25 ± 7.26 W m〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉, respectively, with an averaged atmospheric heating rate of 0.9–2.3 K day〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. A large amount of anthropogenic aerosols showed a significant effect of heating (cooling) on the atmosphere (surface) results obviously, due to an increased rate of atmospheric heating. Therefore, the thermodynamic effects of anthropogenic aerosols on the atmospheric circulation and its structure should be taken into consideration for future study over the experimental sites.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119335080-fx1.jpg" width="251" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Pavla Sehonova, Nikola Hodkovicova, Monika Urbanova, Stefan Örn, Jana Blahova, Zdenka Svobodova, Martin Faldyna, Petr Chloupek, Kristina Briedikova, Gunnar Carlsson〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Drugs are excreted from the human body as both original substances and as metabolites and enter aquatic environment through waste water. The aim of this study was to widen the current knowledge considering the effects of waterborne antidepressants with different modes of action—amitriptyline, venlafaxine, sertraline—on embryos of non-target aquatic biota—fish (represented by 〈em〉Danio rerio〈/em〉) and amphibians (represented by 〈em〉Xenopus tropicalis〈/em〉). The tested concentrations were 0.3; 3; 30; 300 and 3000 μg/L in case of amitriptyline and venlafaxine and 0.1; 1; 10; 100 and 1000 μg/L for sertraline. Test on zebrafish embryos was carried out until 144 h post fertilization, while test on 〈em〉Xenopus〈/em〉 embryos was terminated after 48 h. Lethal and sublethal effects as well as swimming alterations were observed at higher tested concentrations that are not present in the environment. In contrast, mRNA expression of genes related to heart, eye, brain and bone development (〈em〉nkx2.5, otx 2, bmp4〈/em〉 and 〈em〉pax 6〈/em〉) seems to be impacted also at environmentally relevant concentrations. In a wider context, this study reveals several indications on the ability of antidepressants to affect non target animals occupying environments which may be contaminated by such compounds.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119304257-fx1.jpg" width="266" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mingkai Qu, Jian Chen, Weidong Li, Chuanrong Zhang, Mengxue Wan, Biao Huang, Yongcun Zhao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Heavy metal data measured by portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF), especially by in-situ PXRF, are usually affected by multiple soil factors, such as soil moisture (SM), soil organic matter (SOM), and soil particle size (SPZ). Thus, a correction may be needed. However, traditionally-used correction methods, such as non-spatial linear regression (LR), cannot effectively correct the spatially non-stationary influences of the related soil factors on PXRF analysis. Moreover, these correction methods are not robust to outliers. In this study, robust geographically weighted regression (RGWR) was used to correct in-situ and ex-situ PXRF data of soil Pb in a peri-urban agricultural area of Wuhan City, China. The accuracy of the corrected PXRF data by RGWR was compared with those by non-spatial and spatial but non-robust methods (i.e., LR and GWR). In addition, to find an appropriate method of using the corrected PXRF data for more accurate spatial prediction, we compared robust ordinary kriging with the corrected PXRF data as part of hard data (ROK-CPXRF) and robust ordinary cokriging with the corrected PXRF data as auxiliary soft data (RCoK-CPXRF). Results showed that (i) RGWR obtained higher correction accuracy than LR and GWR on both the in-situ and ex-situ PXRF data; (ii) the accuracy of the RGWR-corrected in-situ PXRF data was increased nearly to that of the RGWR-corrected ex-situ PXRF data; (iii) given the same amount of sample data, ROK-CPXRF obtained higher prediction accuracy than RCoK-CPXRF. It is concluded that the methods suggested in this study may largely promote the application of in-situ PXRF technique for rapid and accurate soil heavy metal investigation in large-scale areas.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119322766-fx1.jpg" width="135" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mihye Lee, Joel Schwartz, Yun Wang, Francesca Dominici, Antonella Zanobetti〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Background〈/h6〉 〈p〉New evidence suggests that particulate matter less than 2.5 〈em〉μ〈/em〉m in diameter (PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉) is associated with late-onset dementia (LOD). However, epidemiological studies for the entire population are lacking.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉We analyzed approximately 94 million follow-up records from fee-for-service Medicare records for 13 million Medicare beneficiaries residing in the southeastern United States (U.S.) from 2000 to 2013. We used spatially and temporally continuous PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 exposure data. To account for time-varying PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 levels, we applied an Andersen-Gill counting process proportional hazard model; we stratified our analyses by subtype of dementia and level of urbanization of residence.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉During a median follow-up of 6 years, 1,409,599 hospitalizations with dementia occurred. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of hospitalization with dementia was 1.049 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.048 to 1.051) per 1 μg/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 increase in annual PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉. The hazard ratio for vascular dementia was higher (HR, 1.086; 95% CI, 1.082 to 1.090). In large, the magnitude of the effect grew as the level of urbanization increased (HR, 1.036; 95% CI, 1.031 to 1.041 in rural areas versus HR, 1.052; 95% CI, 1.050 to 1.054 in metropolitan areas).〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusions〈/h6〉 〈p〉Long-term exposure to higher PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 was associated with increased hospitalizations with dementia.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119309935-egi10B7Z8NVH02.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 107802" title="Image 107802"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yan Wang, Meng Tang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉PM2.5 is becoming a worldwide environmental problem, which profoundly endangers public health, thus progressively capturing public attention this decade. As a fragile target of PM2.5, the underlying mechanisms of endothelial cell damage are still obscure. According to the previous microarray data and signaling pathway analysis, a new form of cell death termed ferroptosis in the current study is proposed following PM2.5 exposure. In order to verify the vital role of ferroptosis in PM2.5-induced endothelial lesion and further understand the potential mechanism involved, intracellular iron content, ROS release and lipid peroxidation, as well as biomarkers of ferroptosis were detected, respectively. As a result, uptake of particles increases cellular iron content and ROS production. Meanwhile, GSH depletion, and the decrease of GSH-Px and NADPH play significant roles in PM2.5-induced endothelial cell ferroptosis. Moreover, significantly changed expression of TFRC, FTL and FTH1 hinted that dysfunction of iron uptake and storage is a major inducer of ferroptosis. Importantly, index monitored above can be partially rescued by lipid peroxidation inhibitor ferrostatin-1 and iron chelator deferoxamine mesylate, which mediated antiferroptosis activity mainly depends on the restoration of antioxidant activity and iron metabolism. In conclusion, our data basically show that PM2.5 enhances ferroptosis sensitivity with increased ferroptotic events in endothelial cells, in which iron overload, lipid peroxidation and redox imbalance act pivotal roles.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119315155-fx1.jpg" width="313" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Cliff Abdul Magwira, Natalie Aneck-Hahn, Maureen Beatrice Taylor〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The consumption of tonnes of anti-tubercular and other anti-microbial compounds for the control of the tuberculosis epidemic and other opportunistic diseases associated with human immunodeficiency virus presents tuberculosis-endemic countries such as South Africa, with a problem regarding the occurrence and fate of these compounds in the aquatic environment. The majority of these compounds are not readily degradable and could persist in the aquatic environment with potential detrimental effect on the aquatic microbiota ecosystem, development and dissemination of anti-microbial resistance as well as chronic toxicity in humans due to long-term exposure. This review summarises and discusses the occurrence, fate and potential adverse effects of the commonly administered anti-tubercular compounds in the aquatic environment in tuberculosis-endemic countries and South Africa in particular. It further attempts to identify information gaps in the literature regarding anti-tubercular compounds in the environment that needs further investigation so that their risk can be comprehensively assessed and impact mitigated.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119304014-fx1.jpg" width="440" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zeynep Akdogan, Basak Guven〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Microplastics (plastic particles 〈5 mm) are a contaminant of increasing ecotoxicological concern in aquatic environments, as well as for human health. Although microplastic pollution is widespread across the land, water, and air, these environments are commonly considered independently; however, in reality are closely linked. This study aims to review the scientific literature related microplastic research in different environmental compartments and to identify the research gaps for the assessment of future research priorities. Over 200 papers involving microplastic pollution, published between 2006 and 2018, are identified in the Web of Science database. The original research articles in ‘Environmental Sciences’, ‘Marine/Freshwater Biology’, ‘Toxicology’, ‘Multidisciplinary Sciences’, ‘Environmental Studies’, ‘Oceanography’, ‘Limnology’ and ‘Ecology’ categories of Web of Science are selected to investigate microplastic research in seas, estuaries, rivers, lakes, soil and atmosphere. The papers identified for seas, estuaries, rivers and lakes are further classified according to (i) occurrence and characterization (ii) uptake by and effects in organisms, and (iii) fate and transport issues. The results reveal that whilst marine microplastics have received substantial scientific research, the extent of microplastic pollution in continental environments, such as rivers, lakes, soil and air, and environmental interactions, remains poorly understood.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119302039-egi10P8RG6X9DG.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 10869" title="Image 10869"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): L.A.E. Cobley, D.E. Pataki〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The urban nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) cycles are substantially influenced by human activity. Alterations to these cycles include increased inputs from fossil fuel combustion and fertilizer use. The leaf chemistry of urban trees can be used to distinguish between these different N and C sources. Here, we evaluated relationships between urban vegetation and different N and C sources in street and residential trees in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah. We tested three hypotheses: 1) unfertilized street trees on high traffic density roads will have higher leaf %N, more enriched δ〈sup〉15〈/sup〉N and more depleted δ〈sup〉13〈/sup〉C than unfertilized street trees on low traffic density roads; 2) trees in high income residential neighborhoods will have higher leaf %N, more depleted δ〈sup〉15〈/sup〉N and more enriched δ〈sup〉13〈/sup〉C than trees in lower income neighborhoods; and 3) unfertilized street trees will have lower leaf %N, more enriched δ〈sup〉15〈/sup〉N and more depleted δ〈sup〉13〈/sup〉C than fertilized residential trees. Leaf δ〈sup〉15〈/sup〉N was more enriched near high traffic density roads for one study species. However, street tree δ〈sup〉15〈/sup〉N and δ〈sup〉13〈/sup〉C were largely influenced by vehicle emissions from primary and secondary roads within 1000 m radius rather than the immediately adjacent road. Leaf δ〈sup〉13〈/sup〉C was correlated with neighborhood income, although this relationship may be the result of variations in irrigation practices rather than variations in C sources. Finally, unfertilized trees in downtown Salt Lake had lower leaf %N, more enriched δ〈sup〉15〈/sup〉N and more depleted δ〈sup〉13〈/sup〉C than fertilized trees. These results highlight that urban trees can serve as biomonitors of the environment. Moreover, they emphasize that roads can have large spatial footprints and that the leaf chemistry of urban vegetation may be influenced by the spatial patterns in roads and road densities at the landscape scale.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119304531-egi10H2RXKJW6W.jpg" width="366" alt="Image 1026" title="Image 1026"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Lina Wu, Mingyu Shen, Jin Li, Shan Huang, Zhi Li, Zhibin Yan, Yongzhen Peng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The challenge of sludge digester liquor treatment is its high ammonium nitrogen (NH〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉+〈/sup〉-N) concentration. Early reports found that complete ammonia oxidation (comammox) was not present and anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) was difficult to achieve in most sludge digester liquor treatments. In this study, NH〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉+〈/sup〉-N removal by cooperation between partial-nitrification, comammox, and anammox processes was achieved in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) for sludge digester liquor treatment. The results showed that 2100–2200 mg/L of NH〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉+〈/sup〉-N was removed in the SBR with 98.82% removal efficiency. In addition, 55.11% of NH〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉+〈/sup〉-N was converted to nitrite nitrogen (NO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉-N) by partial-nitrification, 25.43% of NH〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉+〈/sup〉-N was converted to nitrate nitrogen (NO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉-N) by comammox, and 18.28% of NH〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉+〈/sup〉-N was removed by anammox. During the operation, in the SBR, the relative abundance of the dominant ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (〈em〉Chitinophagaceae)〈/em〉 was 18.89%, that of the dominant anammox bacteria 〈em〉(Candidatus〈/em〉 Kuenenia) was 0.10%, and that of the dominant comammox bacteria (〈em〉Nitrospira)〈/em〉 was 0.20%. Therefore, the high nitrogen removal efficiency in this system was considered the result of the combination of the three processes. These results showed that comammox and anammox could play very important roles in nitrogen transformation and energy-saving in nitrogen removal systems.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Nitrogen removal by co-occurring partial nitrification-anammox and comammox from sludge-digestion liquid.〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119333202-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ting Cai, Yue Ding, Zhihuan Zhang, Xinwei Wang, Tieguan Wang, Yuanyuan Ren, Yibo Dong〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The risk of soils transferring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) into groundwater has caused widespread concern. Research on the leaching behavior of PAHs in soil profiles is very important for assessing this risk. Column leaching tests were carried out to provide insight into the effect of TOC and leaching water volume on leaching behavior of PAHs. Four groups were leached intermittently by deionized water under the same leaching rate for 10 d, 30 d, 90 d and 120 d. These four leaching periods are equivalent to 1 yr, 3 yr, 9 yr and 12 yr of rainfall time under natural conditions, respectively. The results showed that residual concentrations of PAHs on the surface of soil (0–5 cm) in three columns after 30 d of leaching were 37.9 μg/g, 18.5 μg/g and 3.7 μg/g, respectively, which was consistent with their TOC contents. According to the correlation analysis, both residual concentrations of ∑〈sub〉16〈/sub〉PAHs and PAHs with different ring numbers were significantly correlated with the TOC content at depths of 5–100 cm after 30 d of leaching. With increased leaching water volume, PAH migration rates significantly decreased (from 3.13 μg/g/d to 0.005 μg/g/d) from 10 d to 120 d, which indicates that the initial period of the leaching process has a stronger effect on PAH vertical migration than the later stages of the process. Under long-term leaching, PAHs that were not leached previously were capable of migrating deeper into the soil profile. Therefore, it has the risk of PAH-contaminated soils transferring PAHs into groundwater.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119310413-fx1.jpg" width="277" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xi-Yin Zhou, Xiuru Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Soil is a fundamental carrier to support for human living and development and has been polluted seriously by heavy metals. This fact highlights the urgency to realize soil heavy metal pollution prevention through soil heavy metals contamination status assessment and root cause analysis. The previous research tends to focus status assessment and source identification without consideration of economic aspect. This study realized the systematic analysis from status assessment, sources identification and economic-environmental cost-benefits analysis in the Yangtze River basin. Through the spatial difference comparison among the provinces of upper, middle and lower in the Yangtze River basin, it revealed that anthropogenic influence is the main reason caused the current Cd contamination in Yangtze River basin. An interesting finding is that the human caused Cd concentration contribution amount is nearly the same between upstream and downstream which is all about 0.1 mg/kg, while they have quite different economic scale. It indicated that due to the difference of the scale and structure of local economy, and the level of cleaner production and pollution treatment, some regions could own high economic-benefits and low environmental cost, which it is opposite in other regions. The geographic location and natural resources is the root cause to form the environmental cost-economic benefits difference among regions. The convenient traffic promoted downstream to develop large amount and high quality of economy. The natural mineral resources promoted midstream to develop resources based economy. The poor condition of traffic and natural resources has restricted the development of Qinghai province, and made it has the highest Cd pollution intensity. The results would provide effective economic management measures for better soil quality and sustainable development goals achievement.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119311182-fx1.jpg" width="340" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ying Zhou, Yuan Yao, Yijun Shao, Weidong Qu, Yue Chen, Qingwu Jiang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The associations between bisphenol analogues (BPs) exposure and oxidative damage was explored in this 3-year longitudinal study of 275 school children in East China. Nine BPs in first morning urine samples were measured to assess BPs exposure, and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanosine (8-OHG) were measured as biomarkers of oxidative DNA and RNA damage. Linear mixed model (LMM) was used for repeated measures analysis. School children were mainly exposed to BPA, BPS, BPF, and BPAF (detection frequencies: 97.9%, 42.2%, 13.3%, and 12.8%) with median concentrations of 1.55, 0.355, 0.236 and 0.238 μg g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉〈sub〉Cre〈/sub〉, respectively. An interquartile range (IQR) increase in urinary BPA was significantly associated with 12.9% (95% CI: 6.1%, 19.6%) increase in 8-OHdG and 19.4% (95% CI: 11.7%, 27.1%) increase in 8-OHG, and for total of BPs (the sum of BPA, BPS, BPF, and BPAF), they were 17.4% (95% CI: 8.9%, 26.0%) for 8-OHdG and 25.9% (95% CI: 16.1%, 35.7%) for 8-OHG, respectively. BPS was positively associated with 8-OHG, but not with 8-OHdG. The study found positive associations of urinary levels of BPA and total BPs with 8-OHdG and 8-OHG and indicated that BPs exposure might cause oxidative RNA damage.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119307080-fx1.jpg" width="294" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ling Feng, Sijin Chen, Lijin Zhang, Wei Qu, Zhigao Chen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉That an alteration of the intestinal permeability is associated with gut barrier function has been increasingly evident, which plays an important role in human and animal health. Bisphenol A (BPA), an industrial compound used worldwide, has recently been classified as an environmental pollutant. One of our earlier studies has demonstrated that BPA disrupts the intestinal barrier function by inducing apoptosis and inhibiting cell proliferation in the human colonic epithelial cells line. In this study, we investigated the effects of dietary BPA uptake on the colonic barrier function in mice, as well as the intestinal permeability. Dietary BPA uptake was observed to destroy the morphology of the colonic epithelium and increase the pathology score. The levels of endotoxin, diamine peroxidase, D-lactate, and zonulin were found to have been significantly elevated in both plasma and colonic mucosa. A decline in the number of intestinal goblet cells and in mucin 2 gene expression was observed in the mice belonging to the BPA group. The results of immunohistochemistry revealed that the expression of tight junction proteins (ZO-1, occludin, and claudin-1) in colonic epithelium of BPA mice decreased significantly, and their gene abundance was also inhibited. Moreover, dietary BPA uptake was also found to have significantly reduced colonic microbial diversity and altered microbial structural composition. The functional profiles of colonic bacterial community exhibited adverse effects of dietary BPA intake on the endocrine and digestive systems, as well as the transport and catabolism functions. Collectively, our study highlighted that dietary BPA increased the colonic permeability, and this effect was closely related to the disruption of intestinal chemistry and physical and biological barrier functions.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119321876-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Cencen Yu, Chenfei Shi, Jing Tang, Qiuyi Ji, Xuan Wang, Xiaoguang Xu, Guoxiang Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Organic matter-induced black bloom frequently occurs in a number of large eutrophic shallow lakes; this can result in the release of malodorous compounds and has a negative impact on water quality. In the study, a microcosm system containing 〈em〉Zizania latifolia〈/em〉 (〈em〉Z. latifolia〈/em〉), a common aquatic plant, was established and the release of seven taste and odour compounds, dimethyl sulphide (DMS), dimethyl disulphide (DMDS), dimethyl trisulphide (DMTS), 2-methylisoborneol (MIB), geosmin (GSM), β-cyclocitral, and β-ionone, was investigated. The results showed that these compounds were all detected during 〈em〉Z. latifolia〈/em〉 decay, and that volatile organic sulphur compounds (VOSCs), such as DMS, DMDS, and DMTS, were the main factors responsible for the strong foul odour (the maximum reached 5.0 μg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉). The release of odorous compounds was stronger during the initial seven days, and then progressively decreased in the middle stage of the experiment. Furthermore, large amounts of nutrients were released into the overlying water; nutrient concentration increased with increasing plant biomass. A positive correlation was observed between the odorant concentration and plant biomass. These results indicate that the density of aquatic plants should be controlled as part of future management of aquatic ecosystems.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119310176-fx1.jpg" width="391" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Andrea J. Britton, Sheila Gibbs, Julia M. Fisher, Rachel C. Helliwell〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Deposition of reactive nitrogen (N) is a major threat to terrestrial ecosystems associated with impacts on ecosystem properties and functions including carbon (C) and nutrient stocks, soil water quality and nutrient retention. In the oceanic-alpine 〈em〉Racomitrium〈/em〉 heath habitat, N deposition is associated with moss mat degradation and a shift from bryophyte to graminoid dominance. To investigate the effects of moss mat decline on C and N stocks and fluxes, we collected 〈em〉Racomitrium〈/em〉 heath vegetation/soil cores from sites along a gradient of N deposition in the UK. Cores were maintained under controlled conditions and exposed to scenarios of current (8–40 kg N ha〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 y〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉), reduced (8 kg N ha〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 y〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) and elevated (50 kg N ha〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 y〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) N deposition. Cores from high N deposition sites had smaller aboveground C and N stocks and, under current conditions, leached large amounts of inorganic N and had low soil water pH compared with low N deposition sites. With reduced N deposition there was evidence for rapid recovery of soil water quality in terms of reduced N leaching and small increases in pH. Under high N deposition, cores from low N deposition sites retained much of the applied N while those with a history of high N deposition leached large amounts of inorganic N. Carbon fluxes in soil water and net CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 fluxes varied according to core source site but were not affected by the N deposition scenarios. We conclude that C and N stocks and cycling in 〈em〉Racomitrium〈/em〉 heath are strongly affected by long-term exposure to N deposition but that soil water quality may improve rapidly, if N deposition rates are reduced. The legacy of N deposition impacts on moss mat cover and vegetation composition however, mean that the ecosystem remains sensitive to future pulses in N input.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119321372-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zilan Wu, Tian Lin, An Li, Shanshan Zhou, Huan He, Jiehong Guo, Limin Hu, Yuanyuan Li, Zhigang Guo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in dated sediment cores from the East China Marginal Seas (ECMSs) and the chronology of the net fluxes to sediments were analyzed. The accumulation of 27 PCBs (ΣPCBs) in the ECMS sediments is about 5–26 ng cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉, with the net depositional fluxes of ΣPCBs 10 times lower than those observed in the Great Lakes during the 1960s–1970s. Exponential increases in PCB deposition to the ECMS sediments since the 1990s were observed, which closely follows the fast growth of PCB emissions from industrial thermal processes and e-waste related sources in China. Recent PCB fluxes to the study sites in the ECMSs and the Great Lakes are comparable; the former surged forward with a rising tendency, while the latter showed continued decline after the late 1970s. Due to the different PCB application histories and sources between the two regions, the ECMS sediments may remain as a net sink for land-derived PCBs, while sediments in the Great Lake may have been acting as a secondary source releasing PCBs to water. A higher proportion of trichlorobiphenyls in the ECMS sediments than the Great Lakes was indicated, which may imply the net transport of atmospheric PCBs from China.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119320688-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Junlin Li, Rui Li, Lulu Cui, Ya Meng, Hongbo Fu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉China continues to suffer from severe acid deposition, despite the government implying a series of policies to control air pollution. In this study, rainwater samples were collected from 2011 to 2016 in Sichuan province to measure the pH values and the concentrations of nine inorganic ions (SO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉2−〈/sup〉, NO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉, NH〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉+〈/sup〉, Cl〈sup〉−〈/sup〉, Na〈sup〉+〈/sup〉, Ca〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, K〈sup〉+〈/sup〉, Mg〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, and F〈sup〉−〈/sup〉), and then to investigate their spatiotemporal variations. Besides, the dominant sources for the acidic ions in the precipitation were also revealed by statistical model. The results showed that the rainwater continued to be highly acidic, and the Volume-Weighted Mean (VWM) pH value was calculated to be 5.18 during 2011 and 2016. NH〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉+〈/sup〉, Ca〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, NO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉, and SO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉2−〈/sup〉 were the dominant water-soluble inorganic ions, accounting for 79.2% of the total ions on average. The remarkable decrease in NO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 and SO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉2−〈/sup〉 concentrations (from 75.9 to 54.3 μeq L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 and from 285 to 145 μeq L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, respectively) resulted in an increase in the pH value of rainwater from 5.24 in 2011 to 5.70 in 2016. The concentrations of SO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉2−〈/sup〉, NO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉, F〈sup〉−〈/sup〉, Na〈sup〉+〈/sup〉, and K〈sup〉+〈/sup〉 showed remarkably seasonal variation, with the highest value observed in winter, followed by spring and autumn, and the lowest value observed in summer. High VWM concentration of these ions in winter were mainly due to adverse meteorological conditions (e.g., rare rainfall, lower planetary boundary height, and stagnant air) and intensive anthropogenic emissions. SO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉2−〈/sup〉, NO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉, and F〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 ions peaked in the southeastern Sichuan province, which is a typical industrial region. NH〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉+〈/sup〉 concentrations decreased from 268 μeq L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 in the east to 10.4 μeq L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 in the western Sichuan province, which could be related to the development of agriculture in the eastern Sichuan province. Ca〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 peaked in southeastern Sichuan province due to intensive construction activities and severe stone desertification. On the basis of Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) analysis, four sources of inorganic ions in rainwater were identified, including anthropogenic source, crust, biomass burning, and aging sea salt aerosol. Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) was used to find the spatial correlations between the socio-economic factors and ions in the rainwater. At the regional scale, the influence of fertilizer consumption and Gross Agricultural Production (GAP) on NH〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉+〈/sup〉 increased from east to west; moreover the influence of Gross Industrial Production (GIP) on SO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉2−〈/sup〉 and NO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 also increased.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119312709-fx1.jpg" width="278" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kara E. Huff Hartz, Samuel A. Nutile, Courtney Y. Fung, Federico L. Sinche, Patrick W. Moran, Peter C. Van Metre, Lisa H. Nowell, Michael J. Lydy〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Pyrethroids are a class of widely-used insecticides that can be transported from terrestrial applications to aquatic systems via runoff and tend to sorb to organic carbon in sediments. Pyrethroid occurrence is detrimental to stream ecosystems due to toxicity to sediment-dwelling invertebrates which are particularly at risk of pyrethroid exposure in urban streams. In this work, 49 streams located in watersheds in the northeastern United States were surveyed for nine current-use pyrethroids using two extraction methods. Total sediment concentrations were determined by exhaustive chemical extraction, while bioaccessible concentrations were determined by single-point Tenax extraction. Total and bioaccessible pyrethroid concentrations were detected in 76% and 67% of the sites, and the average sum of pyrethroids was 232 ng/g organic carbon (OC) for total and 43.8 ng/g OC for bioaccessible pyrethroids. Bifenthrin was the most commonly detected pyrethroid in streambed sediments. Sediment toxicity was assessed using 10-d 〈em〉Hyalella azteca〈/em〉 bioassays, and 28% and 15% of sediments caused a decrease in 〈em〉H. azteca〈/em〉 biomass and survival, respectively. A temperature-based focused toxicity identification evaluation was used to assess pyrethroids as the causal factor for toxicity. The concentrations of pyrethroids was only weakly correlated with the degree of urban land use. Sediment toxicity was predicted by total and bioaccessible pyrethroid concentrations expressed as toxic units. This work suggests that bioaccessibility-based methods, such as Tenax extraction, can be a valuable tool in assessing sediment toxicity.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119318743-fx1.jpg" width="499" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 254, Part A〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Rong Huang, Guangcheng Huo, Shaoxian Song, Yinta Li, Ling Xia, Jean-Francois Gaillard〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study developed a novel Hg(II) immobilization strategy by firstly incubating algal cells in high-phosphate cultures for surface modification, followed by obtaining the P-rich biomass as adsorbents for enhanced Hg(II) removal and then charring the Hg-loaded biomass to prevent leaching of phosphate and to immobilize Hg(II). For algal surface modification, 〈em〉Scenedesmus obtusus〈/em〉 XJ-15 were cultivated under different P concentrations and obtained the highest sites concentration of surface phosphoryl functional groups in 80 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 P cultures. For Hg(II) adsorption, biomass from 80 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 P cultures (B-80) achieved the highest saturated sorption capacity of 95 mg g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 fitting to Langmuir isotherm model under the optimum pH of 5.0. For charring stabilization, the Hg-loaded B-80 was calcinated under different temperatures, and the product obtained from 300 °C charring showed the lowest Hg(II) leaching rate without P release. Moreover, FT-IR and XPS analysis indicate that the surge of surface phosphoryl functional groups dominated the enhancement of Hg(II) sorption and also Hg(II) charring immobilization. The above results suggested that the developed strategy is promising for both phosphate and mercury removal from water and for co-immobilization of P and Hg(II) to prevent leaching.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119321827-fx1.jpg" width="476" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: June 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 249〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Clare E. Workman, Allan B. Becker, Meghan B. Azad, Theo J. Moraes, Piush J. Mandhane, Stuart E. Turvey, Padmaja Subbarao, Jeffrey R. Brook, Malcolm R. Sears, Charles S. Wong〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are known to be toxic, bioaccumulative, and persistent. However, exposure routes and toxic effects to humans are still widely unknown. Our objectives were to evaluate potential correlations between concentrations of PFASs in maternal plasma and infant cord blood with home characteristics and developmental effects, including wheezing. The concentrations of 17 PFASs were measured in plasma from prenatal women (n = 414), postnatal women (n = 247), and cord blood (n = 50) from a subset of participants in a population-based birth cohort in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, using online solid phase extraction (SPE) with liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Multiple linear regression and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to evaluate possible associations with PFAS concentrations. Surveys were used to collect information regarding maternal characteristics (e.g. age, parity, duration of breastfeeding), infant characteristics (e.g. birth weight, birth length, head circumference, gestational age, and incidence of recurrent wheezing), and home characteristics (e.g. home age,carpet coverage in the most used room, presence of new furniture, or recent home renovations). PFASs in plasma were associated with maternal characteristics but not home characteristics or early childhood wheezing. PFASs were not associated with developmental effects, with the exception that perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUA) was negatively associated with birth weight. Further studies investigating the potential influences of PFUA on birth weight are warranted.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119300612-fx1.jpg" width="261" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: June 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 249〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): R. Weber, L. Bell, A. Watson, J. Petrlik, M.C. Paun, J. Vijgen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including PCDD/Fs, PCBs and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are among the most important and hazardous pollutants of soil. Food producing animals such as chicken, beef, sheep and goats can take up soil while grazing or living outdoors (free-range) and this can result in contamination.〈/p〉 〈p〉In recent decades, large quantities of brominated flame retardants such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) and per- and polyfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) have been produced and released into the environment and this has resulted in widespread contamination of soils and other environmental matrices. These POPs also bioaccumulate and can contaminate food of animal origin resulting in indirect exposure of humans.〈/p〉 〈p〉Recent assessments of chicken and beef have shown that surprisingly low concentrations of PCBs and PCDD/Fs in soil can result in exceedances of regulatory limits in food. Soil contamination limits have been established in a number of countries for PCDD/Fs but it has been shown that the contamination levels which result in regulatory limits in food (the maximum levels in the European Union) being exceeded, are below all the existing soil regulatory limits. ‘Safe’ soil levels are exceeded in many areas around emission sources of PCDD/Fs and PCBs. On the other hand, PCDD/F and dioxin-like PCB levels in soil in rural areas, without a contamination source, are normally safe for food producing animals housed outdoors resulting in healthy food (e.g. meat, eggs, milk).〈/p〉 〈p〉For the majority of POPs (e.g. PBDEs, PFOS, PFOA, SCCP) no regulatory limits in soils exist.〈/p〉 〈p〉There is, therefore, an urgent need to develop appropriate and protective soil standards minimising human exposure from food producing animals housed outdoors. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to eliminate POPs pollution sources for soils and to control, secure and remediate contaminated sites and reservoirs, in order to reduce exposure and guarantee food safety.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118332603-fx1.jpg" width="400" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: June 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 249〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhen Li, Xiaoqi Yuan, Jianfei Fu, Lingyun Zhang, Lixia Hong, Lingjie Hu, Liya Liu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Previous studies have suggested a change of birth weight linked with elevated ambient air pollutant concentrations during the pregnancy. However, investigations of the influence of higher pollutant levels on birth weight change are limited. The goal of this study is to evaluate whether the air pollution of Ningbo is associated with birth weight, and which trimester could be a window period for maternal exposure to air pollution. A total of 170,008 live births were selected in the Ningbo city of Zhejiang, China, from 2015 to 2017. We estimated the association between the decreased birth weight and the increased air pollutant concentrations in the three trimesters and full gestation. The effects of interaction among pollutants were identified using a co-pollutant adjustment model. An interquartile range increases in PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 (10.55 μg/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉), SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉(4.6 μg/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉), CO (125.59 μg/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉), and O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 (14.54 μg/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉) concentrations during the entire gestation were associated with 3.65 g (95% confidence interval: −6.02 g, −1.29 g), 5.02 g (−6.89 g, −3.14 g), 2.64 g (−4.65 g, −0.63 g) and 2.9 g (−4.8 g, 1 g) decreases, respectively, in birth weight. With each interquartile range increment in NO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 concentration was associated with an 8.05 g (6.24 g, 9.85 g) increase in birth weight. In the first trimester, only the PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 exposure seemed to be associated with the greatest decline in birth weight. After adjustment for co-pollutant, both PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 and SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 were still associated with birth weight, except for CO for O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 adjustment, O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 for SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 adjustment, and O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 for NO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 adjustment. Maternal exposure to air pollution may be associated with a decrease of birth weight, but the contribution of various pollutants is necessary to verify by future research.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118354587-fx1.jpg" width="479" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: June 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 249〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Idoia Martín-de-Lucía, Francisco Leganés, Francisca Fernández-Piñas, Roberto Rosal〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Hyperbranched polymers are nanomaterials belonging to the class of dendritic architectures with increasing applications in many diverse fields. We studied the toxicity of two hyperbranched polymers to the freshwater crustacean 〈em〉Daphnia magna〈/em〉. A hyperbranched hydroxyl-terminated polyester and a commercial hyperbranched polyamidoamine, Helux-3316 were tested for the acute immobilization of daphnids, the overproduction of reactive oxygen species and the activity of the antioxidant enzymes catalase and glutathione S-transferase. The effect for 〈em〉D. magna〈/em〉 immobilization was higher for the hyperbranched polyamidoamine Helux-3316, which was attributed to the presence of primary amino groups on its surface. Following exposure to both hyperbranched polymers, a clear overproduction of reactive oxygen species took place accompanied by concentration-dependent enzymatic antioxidant response. Our results showed that the overproduction of reactive oxygen species activated antioxidant defence mechanisms and was responsible for the immobilization of daphnids exposed to both hyperbranched polymers. We showed evidence of the uptake of fluorescently labelled Helux-3316 that accumulated into the gastrointestinal tract of 〈em〉D. magna〈/em〉, and its removal via excretion within fecal pellets. This is the first work reporting the internalization of hyperbranched polymers in aquatic organisms.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118357348-fx1.jpg" width="313" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: June 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 249〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jocelyn Jardine, Vuyo Mavumengwana, Eunice Ubomba-Jaswa〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Antibiotic resistance (AR) in the environment is a growing and global concern for public health, and intrinsic AR from pristine sites untouched by pharmaceutical antibiotics is not commonly studied. Forty aerobic bacteria were isolated from water and sediment samples of hot springs in South Africa. Resistance against ten antibiotics (carbenicillin, gentamicin, kanamycin, streptomycin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, ceftriaxone, co-trimoxazole, nalidixic acid and norfloxacin) was tested using a standard disk diffusion assay. Resistance to one or two antibiotics were equally found in 37.5%, while the remaining 22% showed complete sensitivity. Intermediate resistance was found for ceftriaxone (52.5%), nalidixic acid (37.5%) and carbenicillin (22.5%), while low levels of resistance were observed for streptomycin (5%) and kanamycin (2.5%), and total sensitivity towards the other antibiotics. Twenty-nine isolates were also tested against eight different heavy-metal salts (Al, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni and Pb) at 10 and 40 mM. All isolates were tolerant and able to grow on ≥2 heavy-metal salts at both concentrations. No association was observed between AR and heavy metal tolerance (HMT). Based on the relatively low AR levels, hot spring sites are pristine environments reflecting baseline levels for comparison to other potentially contaminated groundwater sites.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118334584-fx1.jpg" width="258" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: June 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 249〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ming-Xu Wang, Long-Ni Liang, Weast Siu Siu, Dan Fan, Hao-Ran Sun, Hui-Hui Zhao, Guang-Jie Zhou, Wen-Jun Wu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Economic development puts pressure on environment through air, water and land degradation, which in turn brings real costs to the economy. Actual economy growth should therefore consider the environmental degradation cost resulted from economic activities. Pearl River Delta (PRD) region as a typical delta area with rapid development in China, is with great significance to understand the loses resulted from environmental pollution.〈/p〉 〈p〉This study conducts an environmental economic accounting within the PRD region from 2011 to 2015 using the environmental degradation cost accounting approach. We identified and calculated the economic, agricultural, industrial and social losses resulting from air, water and waste pollution with different valuation methods, which includes shadow price, replacement costs, market value method, etc. The results showed the total environmental degradation cost ranged from 18.1 to 19.8 billion US$ and the environmental degradation index declined slightly over the years, with significant differences among cities.〈/p〉 〈p〉It implied that the environmental condition of PRD region has been continuously improved over the years, but the capacity of environment control between cities had large differences. Cities in PRD region should therefore take measures tailored to their current situation to optimize their resource endowment and industrial structure, to overcome the conflicts between economic development and environmental protection. For cities with relatively high degradation cost, it is urgent to accelerate the efforts in improving the quality of the environment and ecosystem. For cities with lower degradation cost, it is important to take actions to keep on a sustainable and ecological efficient developing path.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Main findings〈/h6〉 〈p〉The total environmental degradation cost of the PRD region is firstly calculated with insights on environmental management.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Environmental degradation cost (including per unit land area and per capita costs) and its structural analysis (atmospheric and water environmental degradations), as well as environmental degradation index within PRD area from 2011 to 2015.〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118341149-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: June 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 249〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Cai Hui, Bing Liu, Ran Wei, Hui Jiang, Yuhua Zhao, Yongchao Liang, Qichun Zhang, Ligen Xu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Although fertilization plays an important role in determining the contents of soil dissolved organic matters or water-extractable organic matter (DOM, WEOM), knowledge regarding the dynamics, biodegradability, and microbial community shifts of WEOM in response to different fertilization treatments is very limited, particularly in rice–wheat cropping soil. Thus, in the present study, we performed biodegradation experiments using WEOM extracted from samples of soil that had been subjected to four different fertilization treatments: unfertilized control (CK), chemical fertilizer (CF), 50% chemical fertilizer plus pig manure (PMCF), and 100% chemical fertilizer plus rice straw (SRCF). UV spectrum and fluorescence 3D excitation–emission matrix analyses applied to investigate the chemical composition of WEOM revealed that all examined WEOMs were derived from microbial activity and the dominant portion comprised humic acid-like compounds. After the incubation, 31.17, 31.63, 43.47, and 33.01% of soil WEOM from CK, CF, PMCF, and SRCF treatments, respectively, were biodegraded. PMCF- derived WEOM had the highest biodegradation rate. High-throughput sequencing analyses performed to determine the microbial community before and after the incubation indicated that 〈em〉Sphingomonas〈/em〉, 〈em〉Bacillus〈/em〉, and 〈em〉Flavisolibacter〈/em〉 were the predominant bacterial genera in the original inoculum derived from the four fertilization treatments. Following biodegradation, we observed that the dominant bacteria differed according to fertilization treatments: 〈em〉Curvibacter〈/em〉 (43.25%) and 〈em〉Sphingobium〈/em〉 (10.47%) for CK, 〈em〉Curvibacter〈/em〉 (29.68%) and 〈em〉Caulobacter〈/em〉 (20.00%) for CF, 〈em〉Azospirillum〈/em〉 (23.68%) and 〈em〉Caulobacter〈/em〉 (13.29%) for PMCF, and 〈em〉Ralstonia〈/em〉 (51.75%) for SRCF. Canonical correspondence analysis revealed that, shifts in the microbial community were closely correlated with pH and specific UV absorbance at 254 nm. We speculated that the inherent traits of different WEOM and the properties of soil solutions under different fertilization treatments shaped the soil microbial community structure, thereby influencing the biodegradation of WEOM.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118358354-fx1.jpg" width="395" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: June 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 249〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Catharina Pieper, Linda Amaral-Zettler, Kara Lavender Law, Clara Magalhães Loureiro, Ana Martins〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Three-quarters of all marine debris (MD) consists of plastic, a reflection of their worldwide use, production and waste mismanagement. Data on MD distributions can improve our ability to effectively reduce debris that escapes onto shorelines and the ocean. In this study, the 〈em〉Matrix Scoring Technique〈/em〉 (Marine Strategy Framework Directive Technical Group on Marine Litter) was applied as an approach to calculate the likelihood of single debris items originating from a series of potential sources. Factors considered were: identity and function of debris, beach location, influential activities, “mix” of debris found, presence of indicator items, and quantity of MD. The standing-stock (abundance and composition) of MD was investigated in two sandy beaches (Conceição and Porto Pim) of the Azores Archipelago (NE Atlantic) for the period 2012–2018. The results of this study show promise towards the implementation of a new classification method to determine beach debris sources in remote open-ocean areas.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118346980-egi10R3G8W38W0.jpg" width="367" alt="Image 1038380" title="Image 1038380"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: June 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 249〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Guohui Shi, Qianqian Cui, Jinxing Wang, Hua Guo, Yitao Pan, Nan Sheng, Yong Guo, Jiayin Dai〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉As a Chinese-specific alternative to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), 6:2 chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonate (commercial name: F-53B) has been used in the metal plating industry for over 40 years. This prevalence of use has resulted in its subsequent detection within the environment, wildlife, and humans. Despite this, however, its hepatotoxic effects on aquatic organisms remain unclear. Here, we characterized the impacts of long-term F-53B exposure on adult zebrafish liver and their offspring. Results showed that the concentration of F-53B was greater in the F0 liver than that in the gonads and blood. Furthermore, males had significantly higher liver F-53B levels than females. Hepatomegaly and obvious cytoplasmic vacuolation indicated that F-53B exposure induced liver injury. Compared to control, liver triglyceride levels decreased by 30% and 33.5% in the 5 and 50 μg/L-exposed males and 22% in 50 μg/L-exposed females. Liver transcriptome analysis of F0 adult fish found 2175 and 1267 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the 5 μg/L-exposed males and females, respectively. Enrichment analyses further demonstrated that the effects of F-53B on hepatic transcripts were sex-dependent. Gene Ontology showed that most DEGs were involved in multicellular organism development in male fish, whereas in female fish, most DEGs were related to metabolic processes and gene expression. qRT-PCR analysis indicated that the PPAR signaling pathway likely contributed to F-53B-induced disruption of lipid metabolism in F0 adult fish. In F1 larvae (5 days post fertilization), the transcription of 〈em〉pparα〈/em〉 increased, like that in F0 adult fish, but most target genes showed the opposite expression trends as their parents. Taken together, our research demonstrated chronic F-53B exposure adversely impacts zebrafish liver, with disruption of PPAR signaling pathway dependent on sex and developmental stage.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118353892-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: June 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 249〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Aaron Lamplugh, Megan Harries, Feng Xiang, Janice Trinh, Arsineh Hecobian, Lupita D. Montoya〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Nail salon technicians face chronic exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can lead to adverse health outcomes including cancer. In this study, indoor levels of formaldehyde, as well as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene, were measured in 6 Colorado nail salons. Personal exposure VOC measurements and health questionnaires (n = 20) were also performed; questionnaires included employee demographics, health symptoms experienced, and protective equipment used. Cancer slope factors from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and anthropometric data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were then used to estimate cancer risk for workers, assuming 20-yr exposures to concentrations of benzene and formaldehyde reported here. Results show that 70% of surveyed workers experienced at least one health issue related to their employment, with many reporting multiple related symptoms. Indoor concentrations of formaldehyde ranged from 5.32 to 20.6 μg m〈sup〉−3〈/sup〉, across all 6 salons. Indoor concentrations of toluene ranged from 26.7 to 816 μg m〈sup〉−3〈/sup〉, followed by benzene (3.13–51.8 μg m〈sup〉−3〈/sup〉), xylenes (5.16–34.6 μg m〈sup〉−3〈/sup〉), and ethylbenzene (1.65–9.52 μg m〈sup〉−3〈/sup〉). Formaldehyde levels measured in one salon exceeded the Recommended Exposure Limit from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Cancer risk estimates from formaldehyde exposure exceeded the US EPA 〈em〉de minimis〈/em〉 risk level (1 × 10〈sup〉−6〈/sup〉) for squamous cell carcinoma, nasopharyngeal cancer, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and leukemia; leukemia risk exceeded 1 × 10〈sup〉−4〈/sup〉 in one salon. The average leukemia risk from benzene exposure also exceeded the US EPA 〈em〉de minimis〈/em〉 risk level for all demographic categories modeled. In general, concentrations of aromatic compounds measured here were comparable to those measured in studies of oil refinery and auto garage workers. Cancer risk models determined that 20-yr exposure to formaldehyde and benzene concentrations measured in this study will significantly increase worker's risk of developing cancer in their lifetime.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118346487-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: June 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 249〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Waqar Ali, Muhammad Wajahat Aslam, Muhammad Junaid, Kamran Ali, Yongkun Guo, Atta Rasool, Hua Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The present study aims to investigate the spatial distribution and associated various geochemical mechanisms responsible for fluoride (F⁻) contamination in groundwater of unconfined aquifer system along major rivers in Sindh and Punjab, Pakistan. The concentration of F⁻ in groundwater samples ranged from 0.1 to 3.9 mg/L (mean = 1.0 mg/L) in Sindh and 0.1–10.3 mg/L (mean = 1.0 mg/L) in Punjab, respectively with 28.9% and 26.6% of samples exhibited F⁻ contamination beyond WHO permissible limit value (1.5 mg/L). The geochemical processes regulated F⁻ concentration in unconfined aquifer mainly in Sindh and Punjab were categorized as follows: 1) minerals weathering that observed as the key process to control groundwater chemistry in the study areas, 2) the strong correlation between F⁻ and alkaline pH, which provided favorable environmental conditions to promote F⁻ leaching through desperation or by ion exchange process, 3) the 72.6% of samples from Sindh and Punjab were dominated by Na⁺- Cl⁻ type of water, confirmed that the halite dissolution process was the major contributor for F⁻ enrichment in groundwater, 4) dolomite dissolution was main process frequently observed in Sindh, compared with Punjab, 5) the arid climatic conditions promote evaporation process or dissolution of evaporites or both were contributing to the formation of saline groundwater in the study area, 6) the positive correlation observed between elevated F⁻ and fluorite also suggested that the fluorite dissolution also played significant role for leaching of F⁻ in groundwater from sediments, and 7) calcite controlled Ca〈sup〉2〈/sup〉⁺ level and enhanced the dissolution of F-bearing minerals and drive F⁻ concentration in groundwater. In a nut shell, this study revealed the worst scenarios of F⁻ contamination 〈em〉via〈/em〉 various possible geochemical mechanisms in groundwater along major rivers in Sindh and Punjab, Pakistan, which need immediate attention of regulatory authorities to avoid future hazardous implications.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118357853-fx1.jpg" width="277" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: June 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 249〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): F. Capozzi, A. Di Palma, P. Adamo, M.C. Sorrentino, S. Giordano, V. Spagnuolo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉This study investigated by the moss-bag approach the pattern of air dispersed elements in 12 coupled indoor/outdoor exposure sites, all located in urban and rural residential areas. The aims were to discriminate indoor vs. outdoor element composition in coupled exposure sites and find possible relation between moss elemental profile and specific characteristics of each exposure site.〈/p〉 〈p〉Elements were considered enriched when in 60% of the sites, post-exposure concentration exceeded pre-exposure concentration plus two folds the standard deviation. Of the 53 analyzed elements, 15 (As, B, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Mo, Ni, Sb, Se, Sn, Sr, V, Zn) were enriched in moss exposed outdoor, whereas a subset of 7 elements (As, B, Cr, Mo, Ni, Se, V) were enriched also in indoor moss samples. The cluster analysis of the sites based on all elements, clearly separated samples in two groups corresponding to mosses exposed indoor and outdoor, with the latter generally exceeding the first. Among outdoor sites, urban were most impacted than rural; whereas other factors (e.g., heating and cooking systems, building material, residence time and family life style) could affect element profile of indoor environments. Based on the indoor/outdoor ratio, As derived from outdoor and indoor sources, B, Mo and Se were enriched mostly in outdoor sites; Ni, Cr and V were specifically enriched in most indoor samples, supporting the presence of indoor emitting sources for these elements. A PCA of all indoor sites based on enriched elements and site characteristics showed that traffic affected indoor pollution in urban areas. The moss bag approach provided useful information for a global assessment of human exposure.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749118357294-fx1.jpg" width="298" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: June 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Environmental Pollution, Volume 249〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xun Wang, Wen Liu, Huifen Fu, Xiao-Hong Yi, Peng Wang, Chen Zhao, Chong-Chen Wang, Weiwei Zheng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract:〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, a series of 〈strong〉BUC-21〈/strong〉/titanate nanotube (〈strong〉BT-X〈/strong〉) composites were facilely fabricated via ball-milling of 2-dimensional (2D) metal-organic framework (MOF) 〈strong〉BUC-21〈/strong〉 and titanate nanotubes (TNTs). The 〈strong〉BT-X〈/strong〉 composites were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–visible diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy (UV–vis DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Both the photocatalytic reduction from Cr(VI) to Cr(III) and adsorptive removal of formed Cr(III) of 〈strong〉BT-X〈/strong〉 composites were systematically investigated under different conditions including pH values and co-existing inorganic ions. It was found that 〈strong〉BUC-21〈/strong〉 (100 mg)/TNTs (100 mg) (〈strong〉BT-1)〈/strong〉 composites demonstrate remarkable ability of photocatalytic Cr(VI) reduction and adsorptive Cr(III) removal, as well as good reusability and stability. It is believed that the introduction of TNTs could capture the formed Cr(III) from the surface of 〈strong〉BUC-21〈/strong〉, which provided more active sites exposed to enhance the Cr(VI) reduction.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0269749119305913-fx1.jpg" width="350" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉